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How elastic are national corporate income tax bases in OECD countries? The role of domestic and foreign tax rates

Author

Listed:
  • Aleksandra Riedl
  • Silvia Rocha-Akis

Abstract

To what extent do reductions in corporate income tax (CIT) rates attract foreign tax bases? What are the revenue implications of a unilateral tax reduction when tax bases are internationally mobile? These questions are explored using annual data from 17 OECD countries spanning the period 1982 to 2005. Controlling for fixed country effects, year effects, and country time trends, and subjecting our results to an extensive robustness analysis, we find (i) a country's aggregate reported corporate profits are negatively and significantly affected by CIT rate reductions in neighbouring countries; (ii) a unilateral reduction in the domestic CIT rate results in lower domestic CIT revenues.

Suggested Citation

  • Aleksandra Riedl & Silvia Rocha-Akis, 2012. "How elastic are national corporate income tax bases in OECD countries? The role of domestic and foreign tax rates," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 45(2), pages 632-671, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:45:y:2012:i:2:p:632-671
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5982.2012.01713.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Karen Tumanyants, 2018. "Economic impact of the change in tax rate on small enterprises of manufacturing and construction sectors: Evidence from Russia 2006-2014," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 14(3), pages 642-658, June.
    2. Enrico Colombatto, 2012. "Fiscal Harmonization: Credible Goal or Trojan Horse?," Working papers 010, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    3. Matthias Krapf & David Staubli, 2020. "The Corporate Elasticity of Taxable Income: Event Study Evidence from Switzerland," CESifo Working Paper Series 8715, CESifo.
    4. Nobilis, Benedek, 2021. "A magyar adórendszer versenyképességének helyreállítása a 2010-es években [Restoring the Competitiveness of the Hungarian Tax System in the 2010s]," Taxation Policy Papers 2, Ministry of Finance, Department of Tax Policy and International Taxation.
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:485510 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Florence Lachet-Touya, 2016. "EU tax competition and tax avoidance: A multiprincipal perspective," Working Papers hal-02939340, HAL.
    7. Krapf, Matthias & Staubli, David, 2025. "Regional variations in corporate tax responsiveness: Evidence from Switzerland," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    8. Florence Lachet-Touya, 2016. "Horizontal and Vertical Tax Interactions in a Common Agency Game," Working papers of CATT hal-02939399, HAL.
    9. Godar, Sarah & Paetz, Christoph & Truger, Achim, 2014. "Progressive tax reform in OECD countries: Perspectives and obstacles," GLU Working Papers 27, Global Labour University (GLU).
    10. David Staubli, 2018. "The Elasticity of Corporate Income: Panel Data Evidence from Switzerland," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 18.01, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    11. Florence TOUYA, 2016. "Horizontal and Vertical Tax Interactions in a Common Agency Game," Working Papers 2015-2016_12, CATT - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, revised Aug 2016.
    12. Mauri, Nicola & Peter, Linus, 2025. "The influence of intergovernmental transfers on local taxes: Evidence from Switzerland," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    13. Florence Lachet-Touya, 2016. "EU tax competition and tax avoidance: A multiprincipal perspective," Working papers of CATT hal-02939340, HAL.
    14. repec:tur:wpapnw:10 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Leoš Vítek, 2013. "Corporate Income Taxation and the Corporate Tax Base in the Czech Republic [Zdanění firem a jejich daňový základ v České republice]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2013(2), pages 38-49.
    16. Godar, Sarah. & Paetz, Christoph. & Truger, Achim., 2014. "Progressive tax reform in OECD countries : perspectives and obstacles," ILO Working Papers 994855103402676, International Labour Organization.
    17. Yuya Kikuchi & Toshiki Tamai, 2019. "Tax competition, unemployment, and intergovernmental transfers," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(4), pages 899-918, August.
    18. 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.
    19. Florence TOUYA, 2016. "EU tax competition and tax avoidance: A multiprincipal perspective," Working Papers 2015-2016_11, CATT - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, revised Aug 2016.
    20. Tamai, Toshiki, 2022. "Tax competition versus tax coordination in a multi-region endogenous growth model with an integrated capital market," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    21. Florence Lachet-Touya, 2016. "Horizontal and Vertical Tax Interactions in a Common Agency Game," Working Papers hal-02939399, HAL.
    22. Karpowicz Andrzej, 2022. "What impacts the value of revenues from taxation of income of corporations? Evidence from European Union Member States," Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics, Sciendo, vol. 12(1), pages 30-53, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H87 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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