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Does Private Country‐by‐Country Reporting Deter Tax Avoidance and Income Shifting? Evidence from BEPS Action Item 13

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  • PREETIKA JOSHI

Abstract

To combat tax avoidance by multinational corporations, the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development introduced country‐by‐country reporting (CbCr), requiring firms to provide tax authorities with a geographic breakdown of their profitability and activities. Treating the introduction of CbCr in the European Union as a shock to private disclosure requirements, this study examines the effect on corporate tax outcomes. Exploiting the €750 million revenue threshold for disclosure and employing regression‐discontinuity and difference‐in‐differences designs, I document a 1–2 percentage point increase in consolidated GAAP effective tax rates among affected firms. I also find evidence consistent with a decline in tax‐motivated income shifting, starting in 2018. These results suggest that, although private geographic disclosures can deter corporate tax avoidance, so far, the regulations have had a limited effect on tax‐motivated income shifting. My findings have policy implications for the global implementation of private CbCr and extend the debate on public versus private disclosure of tax information.

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  • Preetika Joshi, 2020. "Does Private Country‐by‐Country Reporting Deter Tax Avoidance and Income Shifting? Evidence from BEPS Action Item 13," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 333-381, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:58:y:2020:i:2:p:333-381
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12304
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    Cited by:

    1. Katarzyna Anna Bilicka & Elisa Casi & Carol Seregni & Barbara Stage, 2021. "Tax Strategy Disclosure: A Greenwashing Mandate?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9030, CESifo.
    2. Subagio Efendi & Salim Darmadi & Robert Czernkowski, 2022. "Are Financial Institutions Tax Aggressive? Evidence From Corporate Tax Return Data," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 25(2), pages 175-204, August.
    3. Thomas Rauter, 2020. "The Effect of Mandatory Extraction Payment Disclosures on Corporate Payment and Investment Policies Abroad," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 1075-1116, December.
    4. Thomas Walter Kollruss, 2022. "Consolidated financial statements and global tax policy (OECD BEPS) insights from a multijurisdictional case study," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-17, September.
    5. De Simone, Lisa & Klassen, Kenneth J. & Seidman, Jeri K., 2022. "The effect of income-shifting aggressiveness on corporate investment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1).
    6. Delis, Fotios & Economidou, Claire & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2022. "Democracy, Institutions, and International Profit-Shifting," MPRA Paper 111715, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Nerudova, Danuse & Dobranschi, Marian & Solilová, Veronika & Litzman, Marek, 2023. "Onshore and offshore profit shifting and tax revenue losses in the European Union," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    8. Makoto Hasegawa, 2023. "Territorial Tax Reform and Profit Shifting by US and Japanese Multinationals," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(4), pages 771-804.
    9. Dutt, Verena K. & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2021. "The EU proposal for country-by-country reporting on the internet: Costs, Benefits and Consequences," Studien, Stiftung Familienunternehmen / Foundation for Family Businesses, number 250025, June.
    10. repec:ces:ifowps:_2020 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Dutt, Verena K. & Nicolay, Katharina & Spengel, Christoph, 2021. "Reporting behavior and transparency in European banks' country-by-country reports," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-019, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    12. Luca Menicacci & Lorenzo Simoni, 2024. "Negative media coverage of ESG issues and corporate tax avoidance," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(7), pages 1-33, February.
    13. Müller, Raphael & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2020. "On the determinants and effects of corporate tax transparency: Review of an emerging literature," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-063, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Hyejin Cho, 2020. "Sustainable Tax Behavior of MNEs: Effect of International Tax Law Reform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-13, September.
    15. Laudage, Sabine, 2023. "The BEPS Project: Achievements and remaining challenges," IDOS Policy Briefs 22/2023, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Bonn.
    16. Belnap, Andrew, 2023. "The effect of intermediary coverage on disclosure: Evidence from a randomized field experiment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1).
    17. Dutt, Verena & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2021. "Der EU-Vorschlag zum Country-by-Country Reporting im Internet: Kosten, Nutzen, Konsequenzen," Studien, Stiftung Familienunternehmen / Foundation for Family Businesses, number 250010, June.
    18. Petr Janský, 2023. "Corporate Effective Tax Rates for Research and Policy," Public Finance Review, , vol. 51(2), pages 171-205, March.
    19. Ding, Rong & Sainani, Sushil & (John) Zhang, Ziyang, 2021. "Protection of trade secrets and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from the inevitable disclosure doctrine," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 221-232.
    20. Tang, Wenliang & Yang, Mian & Duan, Hongbo, 2023. "Temperature and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    21. Müller, Raphael & Spengel, Christoph & Weck, Stefan, 2021. "How do investors value the publication of tax information? Evidence from the European public country-by-country reporting," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-077, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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