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Avoiding taxes: banks' use of internal debt

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  • Reiter, Franz
  • Langenmayr, Dominika
  • Holtmann, Svea

Abstract

This paper investigates how multinational banks use internal debt to shift profits to low-taxed affiliates. Using regulatory data on multinational banks headquartered in Germany, we show that banks use this tax avoidance channel more aggressively than non-financial multinationals do. We find that a ten percentage points higher corporate tax rate increases the internal net debt ratio by 5.7 percentage points, corresponding to a 20% increase at the mean. Our study also takes into account the existence of conduit entities, which simply pass through financial flows. If conduit entities are systematically located in low-tax countries, previous studies may have underestimated the extent of debt shifting.

Suggested Citation

  • Reiter, Franz & Langenmayr, Dominika & Holtmann, Svea, 2020. "Avoiding taxes: banks' use of internal debt," Munich Reprints in Economics 84720, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:84720
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    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business

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