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Deferred Tax Positions and Incentives for Corporate Behavior Around Corporate Tax Changes

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  • James Poterba
  • Nirupama Rao
  • Jeri Seidman

Abstract

A firm's deferred tax position can influence how it is affected by a transition from one tax regime to another. We compile disaggregated deferred tax position data for a sample of large U.S. firms between 1993 and 2004 to explore how these positions might affect firm behavior before and after a pre-announced change in the statutory corporate tax rate. Our results suggest that the heterogeneous deferred tax positions of large U.S. corporations create substantial variation in the short-run effect of tax rate changes on reported earnings. Recognizing these divergent incentives is important for understanding the political economy of corporate tax reform.

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  • James Poterba & Nirupama Rao & Jeri Seidman, 2007. "Deferred Tax Positions and Incentives for Corporate Behavior Around Corporate Tax Changes," NBER Working Papers 12923, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12923
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    3. Douglas Shackelford & Joel Slemrod & James Sallee, 2011. "Financial reporting, tax, and real decisions: toward a unifying framework," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(4), pages 461-494, August.
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    6. Poterba, James M. & Rao, Nirupama S. & Seidman, Jeri K., 2011. "Deferred Tax Positions and Incentives for Corporate Behavior Around Corporate Tax Changes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 64(1), pages 27-57, March.
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    1. Evers, Maria Theresia & Finke, Katharina & Matenaer, Sebastian & Meier, Ina & Zinn, Benedikt, 2014. "Evidence on book-tax differences and disclosure quality based on the notes to the financial statements," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-047, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Mostafa Monzur Hasan & Ahmed Al-Hadi & Grantley Taylor & Grant Richardson, 2017. "Does a Firm’s Life Cycle Explain Its Propensity to Engage in Corporate Tax Avoidance?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 469-501, July.
    3. Anna Görlitz & Michael Dobler, 2023. "Financial accounting for deferred taxes: a systematic review of empirical evidence," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 113-165, February.
    4. Gebhardt Heinz & Siemers Lars-H. R., 2017. "Die relative Steuerbelastung mittelständischer Kapitalgesellschaften: Evidenz von handelsbilanziellen Mikrodaten," Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 66(1), pages 1-35, April.
    5. Cristian Carini & Michele Moretto & Paolo M. Panteghini & Sergio Vergalli, 2020. "Deferred taxation under default risk," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 33-48, January.
    6. J. Douglas Hanna & Zining Li & Wayne Shaw, 2019. "Banks’ deferred tax assets during the financial crisis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 527-550, August.
    7. Nathan M. Jensen & Adam H. Rosenzweig, 2015. "Can a Single Country Increase the Taxes of Multinational Corporations? Evidence from the Impact of the 1993 Corporate Tax Rate Increase on Fortune 500 Companies," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 757-780, December.
    8. Fabio B. Gaertner & Daniel P. Lynch & Mary E. Vernon, 2020. "The Effects of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 on Defined Benefit Pension Contributions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(4), pages 1990-2019, December.
    9. Graham, John R. & Raedy, Jana S. & Shackelford, Douglas A., 2012. "Research in accounting for income taxes," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 412-434.
    10. Chytis, Evangelos & Koumanakos, Evangelos & Siriopoulos, Costas, 2013. "Deferred Tax Positions under the prism of financial crisis and the effects of a corporate tax reform," EconStor Conference Papers 125775, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    11. Poterba, James M. & Rao, Nirupama S. & Seidman, Jeri K., 2011. "Deferred Tax Positions and Incentives for Corporate Behavior Around Corporate Tax Changes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 64(1), pages 27-57, March.
    12. Evers, Maria Theresia, 2015. "Evidence on Book-tax Differences and Disclosure Quality Based on the Notes to the Financial Statements," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113127, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    13. Petr Habanec & Hana Bohušová, 2017. "Comparison of Deferred Tax Materiality Reporting in Accordance with Continental and Anglo-Saxon Reporting System," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 65(6), pages 1917-1924.
    14. Petr Habanec, 2018. "Relationship Between Deferred Tax Category and Stock Prices in Pharmacy," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 66(6), pages 1469-1475.
    15. Hana Bohušová & Patrik Svoboda & Lucie Semerádová, 2019. "Deferred tax for tax planning in the Czech agricultural companies," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 65(8), pages 349-358.
    16. Vishal P. Baloria & Kenneth J. Klassen, 2018. "Supporting Tax Policy Change Through Accounting Discretion: Evidence from the 2012 Elections," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(10), pages 4893-4914, October.

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    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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