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Capital gains taxation and the cost of capital: Evidence from unanticipated cross-border transfers of tax base

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  • Huizinga, Harry
  • Voget, Johannes
  • Wagner, Wolf

Abstract

In a cross-border takeover, the tax base associated with future capital gains is transferred from target shareholders to acquirer shareholders. Cross-country differences in capital gains tax rates enable us to estimate the discount in target valuation on account of future capital gains. We estimate that a 1 percentage point increase in the capital gains tax rate reduces the value of equity by around 0.3%, which suggests that the capital gains tax significantly raises firms’ cost of capital. Furthermore, we find that the implied capital gains tax burden is higher at times of high economic growth and low stock market valuation.

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  • Huizinga, Harry & Voget, Johannes & Wagner, Wolf, 2018. "Capital gains taxation and the cost of capital: Evidence from unanticipated cross-border transfers of tax base," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(2), pages 306-328.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:129:y:2018:i:2:p:306-328
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.04.014
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. [経済]キャピタルゲイン課税が資本コストに与える影響
      by himaginary in himaginaryの日記 on 2013-01-12 14:00:00
    2. How costly is it to issue equity when capital gains are taxed?
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2013-01-11 21:06:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Todtenhaupt, Maximilian & Voget, Johannes & Feld, Lars P. & Ruf, Martin & Schreiber, Ulrich, 2020. "Taxing away M&A: Capital gains taxation and acquisition activity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    2. Xiaomeng Chen & Xiao Liang & Hai Wu, 2023. "Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions and CSR Performance: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 255-288, February.
    3. Stimmelmayr, Michael & Liberini, Federica & Russo, Antonio, 2015. "The Role of Toeholds and Capital Gain Taxes for Corporate Acquisition Strategies," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112926, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. He, Eric & Jacob, Martin & Vashishtha, Rahul & Venkatachalam, Mohan, 2022. "Does differential taxation of short-term relative to long-term capital gains affect long-term investment?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1).
    5. Axel Prettl & Dominik Hagen, 2023. "Multinational ownership patterns and anti-tax avoidance legislation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(3), pages 565-634, June.
    6. Huizinga, Harry & Todtenhaupt, Maximilian & Voget, Johannes & Wagner, Wolf, 2022. "Taxation and the external wealth of nations: Evidence from bilateral portfolio holdings," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    7. Dang, Man & Nguyen, Ngoc Vu & Mazur, Mieszko & Puwanenthiren, Premkanth & Nguyen, Ngoc Thang, 2021. "Global policy uncertainty and cross-border acquisitions," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 224-235.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital gains taxation; Cost of capital; International takeovers; Takeover premium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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