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Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 50 No. 3 2015

Taxes and Capital Structure

Mara Faccio1,2,3; Jin Xu1,2,3

1 Purdue University West Lafayette · 2 Virginia Tech · 3 Michigan State University

Abstract

We use nearly 500 shifts in statutory corporate and personal income tax rates as natural experiments to assess the effect of corporate and personal taxes on capital structure. We find both corporate and personal income taxes to be significant determinants of capital structure. Based on ex post observed summary statistics, across Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries, taxes appear to be as important as other traditional variables in explaining capital structure choices. The results are stronger among corporate tax payers, dividend payers, and companies that are more likely to have an individual as the marginal investor.

DOI
10.1017/s0022109015000174
Volume
50
Issue
3
Pages
277-300
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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