Tax Employee Careers and Corporate Tax Outcomes

We examine how corporate tax outcomes, consisting of tax avoidance and tax risk, relate to the career outcomes of employees who work in the tax department. Using tax employee data obtained from the professional networking website LinkedIn, we find that both tax avoidance and tax risk are linked to tax employee career outcomes. Specifically, we find that tax employees’ turnover is positively associated with adverse tax outcomes, evidenced through lower tax avoidance or higher tax risk. Moreover, we find that the employment gap for tax employees after exiting the firm is positively associated with these adverse tax outcomes. Lastly, we find that the probability of an external promotion for a tax employee upon joining a new firm is negatively associated with the adverse tax outcomes faced by the previous employer. Collectively, these results suggest that tax employees may experience negative career outcomes when their firms face adverse tax performance. Our study highlights the consequences that tax avoidance and tax risk may have on the individuals who produce these outcomes. Our study also sheds light on the incentives that drive tax employees to cooperate with their firm’s tax-related objectives.