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The Tax Elasticity of Financial Statement Income: Implications for Current Reform Proposals

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  • Dhammika Dharmapala

Abstract

Current reform proposals in international and corporate tax (most notably the OECD’s GloBE proposal) envisage taxing financial statement income. This paper develops a conceptual framework – based on the literature on the elasticity of taxable income – for the welfare analysis of such proposals, and discusses the available evidence on the tax elasticity of financial statement income. The central conclusion is that the most relevant evidence suggests a large responsiveness of financial statement income to taxes (and hence, albeit with significant limitations and caveats, arguably a large deadweight loss). The paper also highlights the need for more evidence on this question.

Suggested Citation

  • Dhammika Dharmapala, 2020. "The Tax Elasticity of Financial Statement Income: Implications for Current Reform Proposals," CESifo Working Paper Series 8534, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8534
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Desai, Mihir A. & Dharmapala, Dhammika, 2006. "Corporate tax avoidance and high-powered incentives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 145-179, January.
    2. Raj Chetty, 2009. "Is the Taxable Income Elasticity Sufficient to Calculate Deadweight Loss? The Implications of Evasion and Avoidance," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 31-52, August.
    3. Martin Feldstein, 1999. "Tax Avoidance And The Deadweight Loss Of The Income Tax," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(4), pages 674-680, November.
    4. Emmanuel Saez & Joel Slemrod & Seth H. Giertz, 2012. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income with Respect to Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 3-50, March.
    5. Dharmapala, Dhammika & Riedel, Nadine, 2013. "Earnings shocks and tax-motivated income-shifting: Evidence from European multinationals," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 95-107.
    6. Altshuler, Rosanne & Grubert, Harry, 2010. "Formula Apportionment: Is It Better Than the Current System and Are There Better Alternatives?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 63(4), pages 1145-1184, December.
    7. Dhammika Dharmapala, 2014. "What Do We Know about Base Erosion and Profit Shifting? A Review of the Empirical Literature," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 35, pages 421-448, December.
    8. Emmanuel Saez, 2010. "Do Taxpayers Bunch at Kink Points?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 180-212, August.
    9. Won W. Choi & Jeffrey D. Gramlich & Jacob K. Thomas, 2001. "Potential Errors in Detecting Earnings Management: Reexamining Studies Investigating the AMT of 1986," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), pages 571-613, December.
    10. Dhaliwal, Dan & Wang, Shiing-wu, 1992. "The effect of book income adjustment in the 1986 alternative minimum tax on corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 7-26, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Luca Menicacci, 2022. "Financial reporting and book-tax conformity: A review of the issues," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2022(1), pages 41-77.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    international taxation; multinational firms; financial statement income; book-tax conformity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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