Under U.S. GAAP, firms recognize assets acquired in business combinations at fair value. Similarly, in taxable asset acquisitions firms adjust the tax basis of assets to fair value. Managers can increase the present value of future tax savings by allocating a greater portion of the purchase...

Under U.S. GAAP, firms recognize assets acquired in business combinations at fair value. Similarly, in taxable asset acquisitions firms adjust the tax basis of assets to fair value. Managers can increase the present value of future tax savings by allocating a greater portion of the purchase...

This study examines the effect of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) on corporate defined benefit pension contributions. The TCJA decreases the corporate tax rate from 35 in 2017 to 21 percent in 2018, and thereafter. This change incentivizes firms to increase 2017 pension contributions to...

We examine two competing explanations for the negative relation between equity compensation and tax avoidance documented in prior research. The first explanation suggests that equity compensation aligns managerial interests and reduces managers' incentives to invest in tax avoidance schemes that...

Much empirical evidence is consistent with properly incentivized executives engaging in more tax avoidance. However, other studies provide evidence consistent with tax avoidance facilitating managerial rent extraction. We address these mixed results by reexamining the negative relation between...

Increasing workplace diversity is a key component of the social pillar of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities. In this study, we use financial statement disclosures to identify firms that claim the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), a federal tax program that incentivizes...

A growing body of work examines market and firm responses to specific tax benefits. We extend this literature by examining market and firm reactions to an economically significant targeted tax refund granted to a few large, but poorly performing, steel firms by the Tax Reform Act of 1986...

Prior research finds that firms pay special dividends before a dividend tax increase. We examine the real effects of this decision, finding that firms incur costs to pay these tax-motivated special dividends. Specifically, firms reduce investment and repurchases to pay these dividends. Further,...