Essays on banks' tax response

This thesis consists of three essays examining banks’ tax response. The first essay Tax vs. Regulation Policy and the Location of Financial Sector FDI is co-authored with Prof. Dr. Michael Overesch, Chair of Business Taxation at the University of Cologne and Prof. Dr. Georg Wamser, Chair of Public Finance at the University of Tuebingen. It aims to investigate how taxation and regulatory constraints influence German banks’ decision to locate branches orsubsidiaries in specific countries. In the second essay Profit Shifting and Tax Response of Multinational Banks, co-authored with Prof. Dr. Michael Overesch, Chair of Business Taxation at the University of Cologne, we evaluate if banks engage in profit shifting and estimate the extent. In additional analysis we test different profit components for their tax elasticity. Finally, we test often suspected shifting channels, such as leverage and loan loss provisions, to support our results. The thesis concludes with an essay on recapitalized banks. Tax Aggressiveness vs. Capital Injections - Can Banks Have It All? is based on a working paper with MSc. Tanja Herbert, doctoral research assistant at the chair of business taxation at the University of Cologne. Using a hand-collected data set we analyze the change in tax aggressiveness of banks caused by capital injections during the financial crisis. We thereby measure the effect government influence had on banks’ tax aggressiveness.