An Overview of Academic Tax Accounting Research Drawing on U.S. Multinational Taxation

Abstract

Economics-based tax research in accounting draws heavily on the Scholes-Wolfson framework. The framework develops a global approach to tax planning where all parties, all taxes, and all costs are to be considered in effective tax planning. Effective tax planning is distinct from tax minimization as the goal of the former is to maximize the after-tax rate of return. The first empirical applications of the framework followed the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Taxation of multinationals has long been of interest to accounting (and other) researchers and continues to be of interest. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changed many tax laws including how the U.S. taxes U.S. multinationals. Research examining the ramifications of this latest Tax Act is already well under way.