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Do tax havens create firm value?

Author

Listed:
  • Siu Kai Choy
  • Tat-Kei Lai

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Travis Ng

Abstract

On October 11, 2011, a non-governmental organization called ActionAid published a report condemning the FTSE 100 firms for holding an unusually large number of subsidiaries in tax havens. Urging the government to implement appropriate actions, the report raised the firms' costs of holding tax haven subsidiaries. After this event, the stock prices of the nonfinancial firms experienced a 0.9% abnormal drop (corresponding to about £ 9 billion in market capitalization). Those better-governed firms and those with larger shares of subsidiaries in tax havens experienced larger drops. We find some evidence that government scrutiny, reputation, and investor sentiment were plausible channels of such a negative impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Siu Kai Choy & Tat-Kei Lai & Travis Ng, 2017. "Do tax havens create firm value?," Post-Print hal-01533521, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01533521
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.10.016
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    Cited by:

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    2. Petr Janský, 2020. "European banks and tax havens: evidence from country-by-country reporting," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(54), pages 5967-5985, November.
    3. Robinson Reyes-Peña & Arun Upadhyay & Arun Kumaraswamy, 2023. "Foreign competitive pressure and inversions by U.S. multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(5), pages 829-851, July.
    4. Chang, Kai & Xue, Chenqi & Zhang, Huijia & Zeng, Yonghong, 2022. "The effects of green fiscal policies and R&D investment on a firm's market value: New evidence from the renewable energy industry in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    5. Babar, Md. & Habib, Ahsan, 2021. "Product market competition in accounting, finance, and corporate governance: A review of the literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Col, Burcin & Errunza, Vihang, 2022. "Havenly acquisitions," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    7. Richardson, Grant & Taylor, Grantley & Obaydin, Ivan, 2020. "Does the use of tax haven subsidiaries by U.S. multinational corporations affect the cost of bank loans?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Li, Wanli & Lai, Yin & Wang, Chaohui & Tan, Bowen, 2022. "How do emerging debt market participants recognize firm internationalization?Evidence from effects on credit ratings," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax havens; Firm value; Corporate governance; Corporate tax; Event study;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance

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