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Consumption Taxes and Corporate Investment

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Jacob
  • Roni Michaely
  • Maximilian A Müller

Abstract

Consumers nominally pay the consumption tax, but theoretical and empirical evidence is mixed on whether corporations partly shoulder this burden, thereby affecting corporate investment. Using a quasi-natural experiment, we show that consumption taxes decrease investment. Firms facing more elastic demand decrease investment more strongly, because they bear more of the consumption tax. We corroborate the validity of our findings using 86 consumption tax changes in a cross-country panel. We document two mechanisms underlying the investment response: reduced firms’ profitability and lower aggregate consumption. Importantly, the magnitude of the investment response to consumption taxes is similar to that of corporate taxes. Received September 25, 2017; editorial decision August 26, 2018 by Editor Wei Jiang. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Jacob & Roni Michaely & Maximilian A Müller, 2019. "Consumption Taxes and Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(8), pages 3144-3182.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rfinst:v:32:y:2019:i:8:p:3144-3182.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rfs/hhy132
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    Cited by:

    1. Hillmann, Lisa, 2023. "Dividend taxation and the ownership structure of private firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Rainer Niemann & Mariana Sailer, 2023. "Is analytical tax research alive and kicking? Insights from 2000 until 2022," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(6), pages 1149-1212, August.
    3. Antonio De Vito & Martin Jacob & Dirk Schindler & Guosong Xu, 2023. "How Do Corporate Tax Hikes Affect Investment Allocation within Multinationals?," CESifo Working Paper Series 10272, CESifo.
    4. Eichfelder, Sebastian & Jacob, Martin & Kalbitz, Nadine & Wentland, Kelly, 2023. "How do corporate tax rates alter conforming tax avoidance?," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 277, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    5. Eichfelder, Sebastian & Jacob, Martin & Schneider, Kerstin, 2020. "Do tax incentives reduce investment quality?," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 248, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    6. Ishida, Souhei & Ogoe, Satoshi & Suzuki, Katsushi, 2023. "Earnings management, horizon problem, and advisor posts for retiring CEOs," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Feng, Cong & Fay, Scott & Kashmiri, Saim, 2022. "The value relevance of descriptive R&D intensity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1394-1407.
    8. Hayley Pallan, 2022. "Do Investors Care About Consumption Taxes? Evidence from Equities in Advanced and Emerging Economies," IHEID Working Papers 14-2022, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    9. Jiang, Kangqi & Chen, Zhongfei & Rughoo, Aarti & Zhou, Mengling, 2022. "Internet finance and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    10. 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).
    11. Guo, Yue Mei & Li, Xiao, 2023. "The impact of greater VAT tax neutrality on total factor productivity: Evidence from China’s VAT credit refund reform in 2018," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 922-936.
    12. Jacob, Martin, 2021. "Dividend taxes, employment, and firm productivity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    13. Rainer Niemann & Ulrich Schreiber, 2020. "Herausforderungen und Entwicklungsperspektiven des Steuersystems [Challenges and Development Perspectives of the Tax System]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(1), pages 1-48, March.
    14. Liu, Xiufen & Fang, Hongsheng & Zhao, Lexin & Xu, Wenli, 2023. "Do VAT cuts help stabilize employment? Evidence from China’s VAT rate reform," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 190-207.
    15. Jacob, Martin & Vossebürger, Robert, 2022. "The role of personal income taxes in corporate investment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Eichfelder, Sebastian & Jacob, Martin & Schneider, Kerstin, 2023. "Do tax incentives affect investment quality?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Umar Farooq & Mosab I. Tabash & Ahmad A. Al-Naimi & Krzysztof Drachal, 2022. "Corporate Investment Decision: A Review of Literature," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, December.
    18. John Gallemore & Martin Jacob, 2020. "Corporate Tax Enforcement Externalities and the Banking Sector," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 1117-1159, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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