Debt Bias and Other Distortions

Debt Bias and Other Distortions PDF Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498335926
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 41

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Book Description
Tax distortions are likely to have encouraged excessive leveraging and other financial market problems evident in the crisis. These effects have been little explored, but are potentially macro-relevant. Taxation can result, for example, in a net subsidy to borrowing of hundreds of basis points, raising debt-equity ratios and vulnerabilities from capital inflows. This paper reviews key channels by which tax distortions can significantly affect financial markets, drawing implications for tax design once the crisis has passed.

Debt Bias and Other Distortions

Debt Bias and Other Distortions PDF Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498335926
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 41

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Book Description
Tax distortions are likely to have encouraged excessive leveraging and other financial market problems evident in the crisis. These effects have been little explored, but are potentially macro-relevant. Taxation can result, for example, in a net subsidy to borrowing of hundreds of basis points, raising debt-equity ratios and vulnerabilities from capital inflows. This paper reviews key channels by which tax distortions can significantly affect financial markets, drawing implications for tax design once the crisis has passed.

Tax Policy, Leverage and Macroeconomic Stability

Tax Policy, Leverage and Macroeconomic Stability PDF Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498345204
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 78

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Book Description
Risks to macroeconomic stability posed by excessive private leverage are significantly amplified by tax distortions. ‘Debt bias’ (tax provisions favoring finance by debt rather than equity) has increased leverage in both the household and corporate sectors, and is now widely recognized as a significant macroeconomic concern. This paper presents new evidence of the extent of debt bias, including estimates for banks and non-bank financial institutions both before and after the global financial crisis. It presents policy options to alleviate debt bias, and assesses their effectiveness. The paper finds that thin capitalization rules restricting interest deductibility have only partially been able to address debt bias, but that an allowance for corporate equity has generally proved effective. The paper concludes that debt bias should feature prominently in countries’ tax reform plans in the coming years.

Corporate Tax Reform

Corporate Tax Reform PDF Author: Jane Gravelle
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781978091900
Category : Corporations
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
Interest in corporate tax reform that lowers the rate and broadens the base has developed in the past several years. Some discussions by economists in opinion pieces have suggested there is an urgent need to lower the corporate tax rate, but not necessarily to broaden the tax base, an approach that presents some difficulties given current budget pressures. Others see the corporate tax as a potential source of revenue. Arguments for lowering the corporate tax rate include the traditional concerns about economic distortions arising from the corporate tax and newer concerns arising from the increasingly global nature of the economy. Some claims have been made that lowering the corporate tax rate would raise revenue because of the behavioral responses, an effect that is linked to an open economy. Although the corporate tax has generally been viewed as contributing to a more progressive tax system because the burden falls on capital income and thus on higher-income individuals, claims have also been made that the burden falls not on owners of capital, but on labor income. The analysis in this report suggests that many of the concerns expressed about the corporate tax are not supported by empirical evidence. Claims that behavioral responses could cause revenues to rise if rates were cut do not hold up on either a theoretical or an empirical basis. Studies that purport to show a revenue-maximizing corporate tax rate of 30% (a rate lower than the current statutory tax rate) contain econometric errors that lead to biased and inconsistent results; when those problems are corrected the results disappear. Cross-country studies to provide direct evidence showing that the burden of the corporate tax actually falls on labor yield unreasonable results and prove to suffer from econometric flaws that also lead to a disappearance of the results when corrected, in those cases where data were obtained and the results replicated. Many studies that have been cited are not relevant to the United States because they reflect wage bargaining approaches and unions have virtually disappeared from the private sector in the United States. Overall, the evidence suggests that the tax is largely borne by capital. Similarly, claims that high U.S. tax rates will create problems for the United States in a global economy suffer from a misrepresentation of the U.S. tax rate compared with other countries and are less important when capital is imperfectly mobile, as it appears to be. Although these new arguments appear to rely on questionable methods, the traditional concerns about the corporate tax appear valid. While an argument may be made that the tax is still needed as a backstop to individual tax collections, it does result in some economic distortions. These economic distortions, however, have declined substantially over time as corporate rates and shares of output have fallen. Moreover, it is difficult to lower the corporate tax without creating a way of sheltering individual income given the low tax rates on dividends and capital gains. A number of revenue-neutral changes are available that could reduce these distortions, allow for a lower corporate statutory tax rate, and lead to a more efficient corporate tax system. These changes include base broadening, reducing the benefits of debt finance through inflation indexing, taxing large pass-through firms as corporations, and reducing the tax at the firm level offset by an increase at the individual level. Nevertheless, the scope for reducing the tax rate in a revenue-neutral way may be limited.

Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax

Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Tax revenue estimating
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description


Fiscal Therapy

Fiscal Therapy PDF Author: William G. Gale
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190645431
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Keeping the economy strong will require addressing two distinct but related problems. Steadily rising federal debt makes it harder to grow our economy, boost our living standards, respond to wars or recessions, address social needs, and maintain our role as a global leader. At the same time, we have let critical investments lag and left many people behind even as overall prosperity has grown. In Fiscal Therapy, William Gale, a leading authority on how federal tax and budget policy affects the economy, provides a trenchant discussion of the challenges posed by the imbalances between spending and revenue. America is facing a gradual decline as debt accumulates and delay raises the costs of action. But there is hope: fiscal responsibility aligns with both conservative and liberal goals and citizens of all stripes can support the notion of making life better for our children and grandchildren. Gale provides a plan to make the economy and nation stronger, one that controls entitlement spending but preserves and enhances their anti-poverty and social insurance roles, increases public investments on human and physical capital, and raises and reforms taxes to pay for government services in a fair and efficient way. What is needed, he argues, is to balance today's needs against tomorrow's obligations. We face significant fiscal challenges but, if we are wise enough to seize our opportunities, we can strengthen our economy, increase opportunity, reduce inequality, and build better lives for our children and grandchildren. We do not have to kill popular programs or starve government. Indeed, one main goal of fiscal reform is to maintain the vital functions that government provides. We need to act responsibly, pay for the government we want, and shape that government in ways that serve us best.

Tax Reform and the Tax Treatment of Financial Products

Tax Reform and the Tax Treatment of Financial Products PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Finance
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Financial instruments
Languages : en
Pages : 548

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The President's Tax Proposals to the Congress for Fairness, Growth, and Simplicity

The President's Tax Proposals to the Congress for Fairness, Growth, and Simplicity PDF Author: United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Corporations
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
General explanation.

A Review of Taxes and Corporate Finance

A Review of Taxes and Corporate Finance PDF Author: John R. Graham
Publisher: Now Publishers Inc
ISBN: 1933019417
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
A Review of Taxes and Corporate Finance investigates the consequences of taxation on corporate finance focusing on how taxes affect corporate policies and firm value. A common theme is that tax rules affect corporate incentives and decisions. A second emphasis is on research that describes how taxes affect costs and benefits. A Review of Taxes and Corporate Finance explores the multiple avenues for taxes to affect corporate decisions including capital structure decisions, organizational form and restructurings, payout policy, compensation policy, risk management, and the use of tax shelters. The author provides a theoretical framework, empirical predictions, and empirical evidence for each of these areas. Each section concludes with a discussion of unanswered questions and possible avenues for future research. A Review of Taxes and Corporate Finance is valuable reading for researchers and professionals in corporate finance, corporate governance, public finance and tax policy.

The Encyclopedia of Taxation & Tax Policy

The Encyclopedia of Taxation & Tax Policy PDF Author: Joseph J. Cordes
Publisher: The Urban Insitute
ISBN: 9780877667520
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description
"From adjusted gross income to zoning and property taxes, the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy offers the best and most complete guide to taxes and tax-related issues. More than 150 tax practitioners and administrators, policymakers, and academics have contributed. The result is a unique and authoritative reference that examines virtually all tax instruments used by governments (individual income, corporate income, sales and value-added, property, estate and gift, franchise, poll, and many variants of these taxes), as well as characteristics of a good tax system, budgetary issues, and many current federal, state, local, and international tax policy issues. The new edition has been completely revised, with 40 new topics and 200 articles reflecting six years of legislative changes. Each essay provides the generalist with a quick and reliable introduction to many topics but also gives tax specialists the benefit of other experts' best thinking, in a manner that makes the complex understandable. Reference lists point the reader to additional sources of information for each topic. The first edition of The Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy was selected as an Outstanding Academic Book of the Year (1999) by Choice magazine."--Publisher's website.

Taxes and the Financial Structure of German Inward FDI

Taxes and the Financial Structure of German Inward FDI PDF Author: Fred Ramb
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783865580429
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description