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Personal taxation of capital income and the financial leverage of firms

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  • Frank Fossen

  • Martin Simmler

Abstract

Tax competition for capital has led to a trend where many countries levy lower taxes on interest income, often introducing differential taxation between interest and business income. This study analyzes the effect on firm debt usage. We exploit Germany’s 2009 tax reform, which introduced a final withholding tax on interest income with a flat rate 18 percentage points below the unchanged tax rate on income from unincorporated businesses, as a quasi-experiment. The results, based on firm-level panel data, indicate that firms increase their leverage when the tax rate on interest income decreases, albeit to a small degree. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Frank Fossen & Martin Simmler, 2016. "Personal taxation of capital income and the financial leverage of firms," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(1), pages 48-81, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:23:y:2016:i:1:p:48-81
    DOI: 10.1007/s10797-015-9349-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Yongjiu & Liu, Junyan & Dong, Peiling, 2023. "VAT rate cut and enterprise deleveraging: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1254-1266.
    2. Fossen, Frank M. & Rees, Ray & Rostam-Afschar, Davud & Steiner, Viktor, 2017. "How do entrepreneurial portfolios respond to income taxation?," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 12-2017, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    3. Silke Rünger & Rainer Niemann & Magdalena Haring, 2019. "Investor taxation, firm heterogeneity and capital structure choice," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(4), pages 719-757, August.
    4. Martina Rechbauer & Silke Rünger, 2024. "Measuring the impact of tax loss carryforwards on capital structure choice: the accuracy of earnings-based proxies," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1681-1708, June.
    5. Frank M. Fossen & Ray Rees & Davud Rostam-Afschar & Viktor Steiner, 2020. "The effects of income taxation on entrepreneurial investment: A puzzle?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(6), pages 1321-1363, December.
    6. Frank Fossen & Ray Rees & Davud Rostam-Afschar & Viktor Steiner, 2017. "How Do Entrepreneurial Portfolios Respond to Taxation?," CESifo Working Paper Series 6558, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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