Donna D. Bobek, Jason Chen, Amy M. Hageman, Yu Tian
{"title":"Are More Choices Better? An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Multiple Tax Incentives","authors":"Donna D. Bobek, Jason Chen, Amy M. Hageman, Yu Tian","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51478","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51478","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The U.S. federal income tax system includes numerous incentives intended to encourage many behaviors. However, these incentives add complexity. This study investigates how one source of complexity, the number of different incentives, affects individuals' use of tax incentives. The results from two experiments detect no evidence that having more (versus fewer) incentive choices (i.e., high choice complexity) affects individuals' decisions to engage in the targeted behavior or select an incentive. However, the results do show that individuals faced with high choice complexity are more likely to make errors and less likely to choose the optimal incentive. Further, high choice complexity leads to greater perceived complexity and difficulty, which, in turn, is related to less positive emotions and more anxiety. Thus, high choice complexity has negative consequences on individuals. This study also contributes to the choice complexity literature by examining its effect on making an optimal choice.","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"111-128"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brian C. Spilker, Bryan W. Stewart, Jaron H. Wilde, David A. Wood
{"title":"A Comparison of U.S. and Offshore-Indian Tax Professionals’ Client Advocacy Attitudes and Client Recommendations","authors":"Brian C. Spilker, Bryan W. Stewart, Jaron H. Wilde, David A. Wood","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51502","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51502","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study compares the client advocacy attitudes of U.S. tax professionals who do U.S. tax work in the U.S. and Indian tax professionals who do U.S. tax work offshore. We find that experienced U.S. tax professionals have stronger client advocacy attitudes than experienced Indian tax professionals, while the client advocacy attitudes of inexperienced U.S. and inexperienced Indian tax professionals are not significantly different. Further, client advocacy attitudes of experienced U.S. tax professionals are stronger than advocacy attitudes of inexperienced U.S. tax professionals while the client advocacy attitudes of experienced Indian tax professionals are not different from advocacy attitudes of inexperienced Indian tax professionals. We also provide evidence that the client advocacy attitudes of experienced U.S. tax professionals are positively associated with their recommendations of the client-preferred position, while the client advocacy attitudes of experienced Indian tax professionals are n...","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"51-66"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68958050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Discussion of CEO Narcissism and Corporate Tax Sheltering","authors":"Jennifer L. Brown","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51295","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"23-27"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/ATAX-51295","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"General Counsel Prominence and Corporate Tax Policy","authors":"John L. Abernathy, Thomas R. Kubick, Adi Masli","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51258","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51258","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Prior research provides evidence that individual executives have a significant effect on firm-level tax policy. Further research has shown that having a corporate general counsel (GC) in a firm's top management team (top five highest-paid executives) significantly affects a firm's accounting and disclosure practices. In this paper, we examine the role of the GC in corporate tax policy. Specifically, we use the ascension of the corporate GC to top management as the identifying event in which the role and influence of the corporate GC becomes more salient. We find strong evidence that GC ascension to top management is associated with an increase in tax aggressiveness, as evidenced by greater book-tax differences and a higher likelihood of engaging in tax shelter activities. Data Availability: Data are obtained from public sources identified in the paper.","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"39-56"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Effects of Changes in State Tax Enforcement on Corporate Income Tax Collections","authors":"Sanjay Gupta, Dan Lynch","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51301","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Using a new hand-collected database on state department of revenue (DOR) expenditures, this study examines the association between changes in state corporate tax enforcement expenditures and state-level tax collections during the 2000–2008 time period. The results, after addressing endogeneity concerns using a changes specification and state fixed effects, suggest a $1 increase (decrease) in current period corporate enforcement is associated with an $8 to $11 increase (decrease) in state tax collections two years into the future. The association appears to be attenuated in states with restrictive tax policies (i.e., unitary/combined reporting and related-party add-back provisions) suggesting that enforcement and restrictive tax policies could serve as substitutes. JEL Classifications: H26; H71; H72. Data Availability: Enforcement data were hand collected from state revenue department annual reports and by contacting state corporate income tax personnel. All annual reports are publicly available.","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"125-143"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do Stock-Based Compensation Deferred Tax Assets Provide Incremental Information about Future Tax Payments?","authors":"Derek Johnston, L. Kutcher","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51237","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51237","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: We explore whether an accounting treatment similar to that required under IFRS improves the ability of the stock-based compensation component of deferred tax assets to predict future tax payments, relative to U.S. GAAP. Using hand-collected data for SP M41.","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"79-102"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Shifts in Ownership Composition and Changes in the Implied Cost of Equity Capital for Dividend and Non-Dividend Stocks Following JGTRRA03","authors":"Shane R. Stinson, Robert C. Ricketts","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51302","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Prior studies of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, which cut individual tax rates on both dividends and capital gains, unexpectedly find that non-dividend firms were more favorably affected by this legislation than dividend firms. We address this apparent inconsistency by extending prior research to account for significant shifts in institutional holdings for non-dividend stocks relative to dividend stocks following the tax change. These clientele shifts were especially concentrated among high-risk firms and provide a plausible explanation for the results reported in prior literature. Specifically, we find that significant increases in institutional ownership for high-risk firms led to larger reductions in the implied cost of equity capital compared to other firms that were more heavily favored by individuals following the reduction in shareholder tax rates.","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"103-124"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"CEO Narcissism and Corporate Tax Sheltering","authors":"K. Olsen, James Stekelberg","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51251","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51251","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: We examine the effect of CEO narcissism on an especially aggressive form of corporate tax avoidance: tax sheltering. Narcissism is a multifaceted personality trait associated with a sens...","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"1-22"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/ATAX-51251","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Economic Consequences of Tax Service Provider Sanctions: Evidence from KPMG's Deferred Prosecution Agreement","authors":"Andrew R. Finley, James Stekelberg","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51272","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51272","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: This study investigates the effect of KPMG's Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) on the accounting firm's ability to sell auditor-provided tax services (APTS) and its clients' tax avoidance. We document that following the DPA, clients were more likely to discontinue or reduce purchasing APTS from KPMG relative to the other Big 4 accounting firms. However, we do not find any evidence of a change in tax avoidance among KPMG clients continuing to purchase APTS following the DPA relative to other Big 4 clients. Broadly, our findings highlight how elevated reporting standards and external monitoring impose significant negative economic consequences on the service providers subject to these sanctions. At the same time, it appears clients do not suffer any observable tax costs by continuing to engage a sanctioned tax service provider.","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"57-78"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Retroactive Tax Legislation, Reported Earnings, and Investors' Responses to Earnings “Surprises”: Evidence from R&D Credit Extensions","authors":"B. Bratten, David S. Hulse","doi":"10.2308/ATAX-51395","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ATAX-51395","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT When Congress retroactively extends a temporary tax rule, the effect on earnings is complex because financial reporting standards require firms to apply the integral method using enacted t...","PeriodicalId":45477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Taxation Association","volume":"38 1","pages":"87-109"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68957901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}