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Did Firms Substitute Dividends for Share Repurchases after the 2003 Reductions in Shareholder Tax Rates?

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  • Jennifer L. Blouin
  • Jana Smith Raedy
  • Douglas A. Shackelford

Abstract

This paper tests whether firms altered their dividend and share repurchase policies in response to the 2003 reductions in shareholder tax rates. We predict that firms substituted dividends for repurchases, because the reduction in dividend tax rates exceeded the reduction in the capital gains tax rates. As expected, we find substitution and find that it is increasing in the percentage of the company owned by individual investors, the only shareholders affected by the legislation. These findings are consistent with boards of directors considering the tax preferences of individual stockholders (particularly officers and managers) when setting dividend and share repurchase policies.

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  • Jennifer L. Blouin & Jana Smith Raedy & Douglas A. Shackelford, 2007. "Did Firms Substitute Dividends for Share Repurchases after the 2003 Reductions in Shareholder Tax Rates?," NBER Working Papers 13601, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13601
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    Cited by:

    1. Erin E. Syron Ferris, 2015. "Dividend Taxes and Stock Volatility," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2015-36, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    2. Erin E. Syron Ferris, 2018. "Dividend taxes and stock volatility," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(2), pages 377-403, April.
    3. Hamid Mehran & Michael Suher, 2009. "The impact of tax law changes on bank dividend policy, sell-offs, organizational form, and industry structure," Staff Reports 369, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    4. Christian Keuschnigg & Evelyn Ribi, 2010. "Business Taxation, Corporate Finance and Economic Performance," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2010 2010-04, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    5. Lily Nguyen & Le Vu & Xiangkang Yin, 2021. "Share repurchases and firm innovation," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 1665-1695, April.
    6. Jesse Edgerton, 2010. "Effects of the 2003 dividend tax cut: evidence from real estate investment trusts," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2010-34, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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