IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v33y2025i3p3906-3917.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

ESG Information Disclosure and Its Relationship to Tax Practices: Stakeholder‐Friendly or Legitimacy‐Seeking?

Author

Listed:
  • Khayria Amarna
  • Maria Victoria López‐Pérez
  • Raquel Garde Sánchez
  • Lázaro Rodríguez Ariza

Abstract

Tax laws may promote practices that lead to tax deductions or deferrals over time and that relate to corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures. This study analyses whether transactions that have corporate tax effects are related to tax avoidance or are a way of channeling ESG commitments. In addition, we investigate whether the firm financial situation moderates the incidence of ESG disclosure on tax practices. The results show that ESG disclosure have a positive impact on permanent tax differences, which are produced by philanthropic, among others. However, the effect of ESG disclosure on temporary differences, which can be related to tax avoidance practices, is negative. Companies committed to ESG do not engage in tax avoidance. Regarding the moderating effect of financial indicators, the results show that only profitability positively moderates the relationship between ESG disclosure and temporary tax differences. ESG disclosure could be used to hide tax avoidance practices. The findings have important implications for policymakers, supporting the creation of effective regulations that incorporate companies' tax practices into the ESG objectives. This will encourage companies to be more conscientious about their tax behaviors.

Suggested Citation

  • Khayria Amarna & Maria Victoria López‐Pérez & Raquel Garde Sánchez & Lázaro Rodríguez Ariza, 2025. "ESG Information Disclosure and Its Relationship to Tax Practices: Stakeholder‐Friendly or Legitimacy‐Seeking?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 3906-3917, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:3:p:3906-3917
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.3333
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3333
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.3333?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Shuping & Chen, Xia & Cheng, Qiang & Shevlin, Terry, 2010. "Are family firms more tax aggressive than non-family firms?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 41-61, January.
    2. Annarita Colasante & Idiano D'Adamo & Alfredo De Massis & Simone Italiano, 2024. "An exploratory study of stakeholder views on the sustainable development of mountain tourism," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 3722-3735, August.
    3. Roman Lanis & Grant Richardson, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and tax aggressiveness: a test of legitimacy theory," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(1), pages 75-100, January.
    4. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2014_003 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Grant Richardson & Grantley Taylor & Roman Lanis, 2016. "Women on the board of directors and corporate tax aggressiveness in Australia," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(3), pages 313-331, September.
    6. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513571311285621 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Mahdi Salehi & Shantia Salami, 2020. "Corporate tax aggression and debt in Iran," Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(1), pages 257-271, January.
    8. Prem Sikka, 2010. "Smoke and mirrors: Corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3-4), pages 153-168, September.
    9. Roman Lanis & Grant Richardson & Grantley Taylor, 2017. "Board of Director Gender and Corporate Tax Aggressiveness: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 577-596, September.
    10. Bert Scholtens & Feng‐Ching Kang, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management: Evidence from Asian Economies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), pages 95-112, March.
    11. Sonja Olhoft Rego & Ryan Wilson, 2012. "Equity Risk Incentives and Corporate Tax Aggressiveness," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 775-810, June.
    12. Roman Lanis & Grant Richardson, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and tax aggressiveness: a test of legitimacy theory," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(1), pages 75-100, January.
    13. Lin, Kenny Z. & Cheng, Suwina & Zhang, Fang, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Institutional Environments, and Tax Avoidance: Evidence from a Subnational Comparison in China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 303-318.
    14. Hasan, Iftekhar & Hoi, Chun Keung (Stan) & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2014. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: The effect of corporate tax avoidance on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(1), pages 109-130.
    15. Richardson, Grant & Lanis, Roman, 2007. "Determinants of the variability in corporate effective tax rates and tax reform: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 689-704.
    16. Nemiraja Jadiyappa & Bhavik Parikh & Namrata Saikia & Adam Usman, 2021. "Social responsibility or smoke screening: evidence from India," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(4), pages 767-787, June.
    17. Nemiraja Jadiyappa & Bhavik Parikh & Namrata Saikia & Adam Usman, 2021. "Social responsibility or smoke screening: evidence from India," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(4), pages 767-787, June.
    18. Richardson, Grant & Wang, Bei & Zhang, Xinmin, 2016. "Ownership structure and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from publicly listed private firms in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 141-158.
    19. M. López & Arminda Garcia & Lazaro Rodriguez, 2007. "Sustainable Development and Corporate Performance: A Study Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 285-300, October.
    20. Sikka, Prem, 2010. "Smoke and mirrors: Corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 153-168.
    21. Roman Lanis & Grant Richardson, 2012. "Corporate social responsibility and tax aggressiveness: a test of legitimacy theory," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(1), pages 75-100, December.
    22. Michael Masiya & Stephen Hall & Stuart Murray & Rachel Etter‐Phoya & Eilish Hannah & Bernadette O'Hare, 2024. "Tax expenditures and progress to the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 6144-6162, December.
    23. Cameron Allen & Graciela Metternicht & Thomas Wiedmann, 2021. "Priorities for science to support national implementation of the sustainable development goals: A review of progress and gaps," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 635-652, July.
    24. Chih-Wen Mao, 2019. "Effect of corporate social responsibility on corporate tax avoidance: evidence from a matching approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 49-67, January.
    25. Roman Lanis & Grant Richardson, 2015. "Is Corporate Social Responsibility Performance Associated with Tax Avoidance?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 439-457, March.
    26. Hasan, Iftekhar & Hoi, Chun Keung (Stan) & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2014. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: The effect of corporate tax avoidance on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(1), pages 109-130.
    27. Kałdoński, Michał & Jewartowski, Tomasz, 2020. "Do firms using real earnings management care about taxes? Evidence from a high book-tax conformity country," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    28. Baruch Lev & Christine Petrovits & Suresh Radhakrishnan, 2010. "Is doing good good for you? how corporate charitable contributions enhance revenue growth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 182-200, February.
    29. Grant Richardson & Grantley Taylor & Roman Lanis, 2016. "Women on the board of directors and corporate tax aggressiveness in Australia," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(3), pages 313-331, September.
    30. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammed Benlemlih & Jamil Jaballah & Sholom Schochet & Jonathan Peillex, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate tax avoidance: The channel effect of consumer awareness," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1-2), pages 31-60, January.
    2. Sarhan, Ahmed A. & Elmagrhi, Mohamed H. & Elkhashen, Emad M., 2024. "Corruption prevention practices and tax avoidance: The moderating effect of corporate board characteristics," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    3. Gavious, Ilanit & Livne, Gilad & Chen, Ester, 2022. "Does tax avoidance increase or decrease when tax enforcement is stronger? Evidence using CSR heterogeneity perspective," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Fangjun Wang & Shuolei Xu & Junqin Sun & Charles P. Cullinan, 2020. "Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Literature Review And Research Agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 793-811, September.
    5. Michael Overesch & Sina Willkomm, 2025. "The relation between corporate social responsibility and profit shifting of multinational enterprises," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 32(2), pages 466-500, April.
    6. Kovermann, Jost & Velte, Patrick, 2019. "The impact of corporate governance on corporate tax avoidance—A literature review," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Tânia Menezes Montenegro, 2021. "Tax Evasion, Corporate Social Responsibility and National Governance: A Country-Level Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    8. Panagiotis Karavitis & Pantelis Kazakis & Tianyue Xu, 2021. "Overconfident CEOs, Corporate Social Responsibility & Tax Avoidance: Evidence from China," Working Papers 2021_18, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    9. Fallan, Even & Fallan, Lars, 2019. "Corporate tax behaviour and environmental disclosure: Strategic trade-offs across elements of CSR?," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    10. Nadia Elouaer & Rida Waheed & Suleman Sarwar & Ghazala Aziz, 2022. "Does Gender Diversity and Experience Moderate the Impact of Tax Aggressiveness on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Study of UAE Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-13, November.
    11. Andrea Vacca & Antonio Iazzi & Demetris Vrontis & Monica Fait, 2020. "The Role of Gender Diversity on Tax Aggressiveness and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Italian Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, March.
    12. Nirmala Devi Mohanadas, 2019. "A Theoretical Review on Corporate Tax Avoidance: Shareholder Approach versus Stakeholder Approach," GATR Journals jfbr160, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    13. Kumari Juddoo & Issam Malki & Sudha Mathew & Sheeja Sivaprasad, 2023. "An impact investment strategy," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 177-211, July.
    14. Luca Menicacci & Lorenzo Simoni, 2024. "Negative media coverage of ESG issues and corporate tax avoidance," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(7), pages 1-33, February.
    15. Robert Bird & Karie Davis-Nozemack, 2018. "Tax Avoidance as a Sustainability Problem," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1009-1025, September.
    16. Jiaojiao Qin & Jun Lin & Yan Xin, 2024. "Corporate tax avoidance: The impact of performance above aspiration and CEO experience," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 2301-2331, December.
    17. Raida Chakroun & Azza Khemir, 2020. "The effect of political connection on tax evasion: Post-revolutionary evidence from Tunisian firms," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 10(4), pages 111-126, April.
    18. Christofer Adrian & Mukesh Garg & Anh Viet Pham & Soon-Yeow Phang & Cameron Truong, 2023. "Do Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Tax Avoidance? The Case of Drought," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 105-135, August.
    19. Abdelfattah, Tarek & Aboud, Ahmed, 2020. "Tax avoidance, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility: The case of the Egyptian capital market," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    20. Shuolei Xu & Fangjun Wang & Charles P. Cullinan & Nanyan Dong, 2022. "Corporate Tax Avoidance and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Readability: Evidence from China," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 32(2), pages 267-289, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:3:p:3906-3917. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.