The legitimation of corporate tax minimization

Since the Global Financial Crisis, corporate tax minimization strategies have come under increasing public scrutiny. While the legitimacy of ‘aggressive’ practices has been challenged, corporate tax minimization largely remains unquestioned and manifests in corporate tax strategies. To appreciate how the institutionalized practice of tax minimization is maintained, despite threats to its legitimacy, this paper examines the influence of field dynamics on the enactment of corporate tax strategies. To map the field, we interviewed a cross section of actors involved in influencing the enactment of corporate taxation in Australia, including external advisors, CFOs, tax regulators and policy makers, unions, civil society groups and academics. By adopting Bourdieu's work as a lens, we find that a lack of practical means for implementing a moral view on tax prevents a radical departure from corporate tax minimization strategies. Changing the status quo failed due to critics lacking to propose a practical alternative to the law, which remained the sole guide for tax minimization practices. Despite the presence of heavy critiques, an analysis of the interdependence between the power structure of the field, actors' capitals and their habitus reveal a reinforcement of the view that tax minimization is the only viable strategy. These insights advance field-level studies in accounting by extending the scope of actors included, further demonstrating the influence of marginal actors on field-wide perceptions of legitimacy and potential routes for institutional change.