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Using IRS data to identify income shifting to foreign affiliates

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa De Simone

    (Stanford Graduate School of Business)

  • Lillian F. Mills

    (The University of Texas at Austin)

  • Bridget Stomberg

    (Indiana University)

Abstract

Income shifting is a significant source of tax planning for U.S. corporations. We use confidential Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data to develop a firm-year measure of income shifting. Our measure captures the relative extent of U.S. multinational entity (MNE) net intercompany payments out of the United States to CFCs. Our data show that the majority of sample firms report net inbound intercompany payments on average. Sample firms report nearly $830 billion of outbound payments and over $1 trillion of inbound payments in total. Companies reporting net outbound payments are smaller and operate in high-tech industries. Supplemental analyses show that firms with outbound intercompany payments have a lower rate of IRS audit and are no more likely to be assessed additional taxes upon audit. Our study provides a measure based on publicly available data that researchers, investors, and policymakers can use to infer outbound income shifting.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa De Simone & Lillian F. Mills & Bridget Stomberg, 2019. "Using IRS data to identify income shifting to foreign affiliates," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 694-730, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:24:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s11142-019-9484-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11142-019-9484-4
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    Cited by:

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    2. Matteo Borrotti & Michele Rabasco & Alessandro Santoro, 2022. "Using Accounting Information to Predict Aggressive Tax Placement Decisions by European Groups," Working Papers 488, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2022.
    3. De Simone, Lisa & Klassen, Kenneth J. & Seidman, Jeri K., 2022. "The effect of income-shifting aggressiveness on corporate investment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1).
    4. Elemes, Anastasios & Blaylock, Bradley & Spence, Crawford, 2021. "Tax-motivated profit shifting in big 4 networks: Evidence from Europe," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
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    6. Dane M. Christensen & David G. Kenchington & Rick C. Laux, 2022. "How do most low ETR firms avoid paying taxes?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 570-606, June.
    7. Eulaiwi, Baban & Alghamdi, Fatmah Saeed & Al-Hadi, Ahmed & Duong, Lien & Taylor, Grantley, 2024. "U.S. multinational corporations' income shifting incentives and share repurchases: Evidence across differential taxation systems," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    8. Borrotti, Matteo & Rabasco, Michele & Santoro, Alessandro, 2023. "Using accounting information to predict aggressive tax location decisions by European groups," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    9. Abdullah Almutairi & Baban Eulaiwi & Robert Evans & Grantley Taylor, 2023. "Tax Haven Use and Related‐Party Transactions: Evidence from Australia," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(4), pages 352-374, December.
    10. Nouf Binhadab & Robert Gillanders & Thomas McCluskey, 2023. "A clean and discreet service: The role of corruption and secrecy in profit shifting by multinational firms," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1551-1573, October.
    11. Harald J. Amberger & Saskia Kohlhase, 2023. "International taxation and the organizational form of foreign direct investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(8), pages 1529-1561, October.
    12. Zero Deng, 2020. "Foreign Exchange Risk, Hedging, and Tax‐Motivated Outbound Income Shifting," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 953-987, September.
    13. Delis, Fotios & Economidou, Claire & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2022. "Democracy, Institutions, and International Profit-Shifting," MPRA Paper 111715, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Chen, Zhihong & Hope, Ole-Kristian & Li, Qingyuan & Li, Yongbo, 2024. "Offshore activities and corporate tax avoidance11We appreciate comments and suggestions from Morten Bennedsen (the editor), an anonymous reviewer, and the seminar participants at the Hong Kong Univers," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    15. Lisa De Simone & Jordan Nickerson & Jeri Seidman & Bridget Stomberg, 2020. "How Reliably Do Empirical Tests Identify Tax Avoidance?†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 1536-1561, September.
    16. Dain C. Donelson & Jennifer L. Glenn & Christopher G. Yust, 2022. "Is tax aggressiveness associated with tax litigation risk? Evidence from D&O Insurance," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 519-569, June.
    17. Kelley, Stacie O. & Lewellen, Christina M. & Lynch, Daniel P. & Samuel, David M.P., 2024. "“Just BEAT it” do firms reclassify costs to avoid the base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT) of the TCJA?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    IRS audit; Tax avoidance; International tax; Income shifting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business

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