Does the limiting debt tax benefits curb tax aggressiveness? Evidence from Indonesia 2016 debt-to-equity reform

Abstract

This study defines tax aggressiveness as the extent to which a firm uses interest expense to shield income from tax. Focusing on the period surrounding the debt-to-equity cap reform that restricts the debt tax benefit, we investigate two primary hypotheses: (1) whether thin capitalization, characterized by a higher debt ratio, is positively correlated with tax aggressiveness due to the debt tax benefit, and (2) whether the reform limiting this debt tax benefit (thin capitalization rule) reduces tax aggressiveness. We use the simulated marginal tax rate and the kink – the interest expense percentage at which the marginal tax benefit function curve begins to slope downward – as measures of tax aggressiveness. Applying OLS on a pooled sample from the pre-reform period, we find evidence supporting the first hypothesis. Furthermore, exploiting a natural experiment resulting from the reform and utilizing a difference-in-difference strategy on panel data, we observe that firms affected by the reform, particularly those classified as thinly capitalized, become relatively less tax-aggressive. A lower interest expenses ratio is evidence of a pathway for the finding. In conclusion, tax aggressiveness is associated with thinly capitalized firms, and the tax reform appears to mitigate this behavior.