Valuation and firm investment and financing policies with personal tax biases

In this paper we examine firm financial policies in the presence of personal tax biases (e.g., favoring capital gains relative to interest and dividends). A form of the value additivity principle (VAP) for the tax bias case is established and applied to the firm's merger, investment, financial structure, and dividend decisions. As with the neutral tax VAP, the revised VAP requires transaction costless capital markets but does not require capital market completeness or competitiveness. Share value maximization is found not to be the proper goal for a firm that seeks to maximize the shareholders' current expected utility; however, it is found that share value maximization is generally a good approximate objective. Firm investment policy with financial structure irrelevance (owing to offsetting personal and corporate taxes) is examined assuming that the revised VAP holds.     

The Value of Imputation Tax Credits on Australian Hybrid Securities

Hybrid securities are becoming an increasingly important component of the capital structure of Australian firms. While displaying characteristics of both debt and equity, one principal equity attribute of hybrids is their ability to pay franked dividends. This enables resident domestic investors to claim corporate tax payments as a credit against personal tax obligations under Australia's dividend imputation tax system. This paper estimates a value for the ‘franking credits’ that attach to hybrid securities by examining stock price changes around ex‐dividend dates. We add to the literature that examines the ex‐day price changes of ordinary shares (OS) in that the hybrid securities we examine have high dividend yields and are relatively insensitive to market movements. Therefore the signal‐to‐noise ratio is much higher than for OS. Our analysis reveals that cum‐dividend day prices on hybrid securities do not include any value for franking credits. This result is consistent with the notion that the price‐setting investor in the Australian market is a foreign investor who places no value on franking credits.     

Liquidity,exchange listing,and common stock performance

The liquidity of securities—the relationship between volume of trading and changes in market price—has won increasing recognition as an element of investment strategy in recent years. Relatively high liquidity is deemed to be a desirable characteristic of a stock, especially for the institutional investor, who typically trades in large volume. Thus, firms can generally be expected to seek means of enhancing the liquidity of their shares. One of the supposed means of accomplishing this is by listing one's stock on a national securities exchange. This paper examines the relationship of common stock liquidity to both exchange listing and price behavior during major up and down movements in the market. Our conceptual and empirical analyses indicate that liquidity is linked to price behavior; and we suggest that the view held by at least some corporate officers—that exchange listing increases liquidity—may be erroneous. More specifically, it appears that when the amount of firm capitalization is taken into account, exchange listing does not result in greater stock liquidity.     

预期转股冲击与企业杠杆调整——基于可转债的断点回归分析

股票价格高于转股价格时可转换债券内嵌期权由虚值变成实值状态,可转债持有者可能自愿转为股票对企业而言是一种外生的杠杆率下降冲击。文章从可转债预期转股冲击视角,采用断点回归分析的方法,探讨预期转股冲击对企业杠杆调整的作用程度和影响路径,同时分析预期转股冲击对不同来源负债的影响差异,并检验债务累积风险不同的企业杠杆调整的异质性。研究发现：企业增加当期杠杆率以应对预期转股冲击,预期转股冲击通过增加股价信息含量和提高股票流动性的路径影响企业杠杆调整,其显著提高经营杠杆而不影响金融杠杆。进一步分组检验表明,债务累积风险低的企业对预期转股冲击导致的预期杠杆率下降更为敏感,积极调整企业杠杆率,预期转股冲击不会叠加债务累积风险高的企业杠杆率。可转债融资工具有助于企业实现稳杠杆。     

Capital budgeting and uncertain inflation

In this article, capital budgeting is examined under uncertain inflation. The market value of a risky asset is shown to be greatly influenced by uncertain inflation. Risk- adjusted discount rates and certainty equivalent factors are determined by risks due to potential changes in investors' expectations in response to changes in the unanticipated inflation rate and market conditions over time. A serious error in capital budgeting decision may be resulted if the impact of uncertain inflation is ignored in the valuation process.     

Pricing risky corporate bonds: An empirical study

This paper empirically studies a model for pricing risky corporate bonds proposed by Baaquie—based on the seminal Merton. The proposed model provides an exact solution for the price of a risky corporate bond with a finite maturity and explains the market price of corporate fixed coupon bonds as being the result of the market risk that is carried by the bond. Baaquie's model is empirically tested using 42 fixed coupon bonds issued by 23 US corporations, between 2011 and 2017. It is found that the proposed model estimates most bond prices quite accurately. Market time (similar to the concept of psychological time), which is distinct from calendar time, is quantified in the paper and is an exogenous behavioral parameter that plays a pivotal role in improving the accuracy of the pricing model for long-maturity risky bonds.     

Capital Structure Choices and Taxes: Evidence from the Australian Dividend Imputation Tax System

The introduction in 1987 of a dividend imputation tax system in Australia represented a significant change to the tax framework. To the extent that tax incentives influence the use of debt financing, changes in tax laws that alter these incentives will lead to changes in corporate capital structures. This paper examines the changes in corporate capital structure around the introduction of a dividend imputation tax system. The introduction of dividend imputation provides an incentive for firms to (a) reduce the level of debt financing utilized where this incentive varies across firms depending on the firm’s effective corporate tax rate, and (b) increase the level of external equity financing. The results present evidence consistent with these incentives.     

Hat die Einführung der Abgeltungsteuer Aktienkurse beeinflusst?

This paper discusses findings of a current research project whose results indicate that the implementation of the German flat withholding tax on capital gains at the turn of the year 2008–09 led to a temporary but significant increase in trading volumes and share prices on the German stock market. As this capital gains tax reform had already been announced in 2007, corresponding market reactions imply a delayed dissemination of tax information. Hence, our results raise some doubt regarding the information-processing capacity of stock markets. This holds true especially in the following circumstances: 1) extensive trading activities of individual investors with limited information access and attention; 2) a strong focus by a large group of individual investors to a limited number of trading days (herd behaviour); and 3) limited liquidity in the market (e.g. stocks with a small market capitalisation).     

企业社会责任信息披露与股票价格关系研究——沪市民营企业的经验证据

文章以2009年沪市A股222家民营上市公司为研究样本实证检验了民营企业社会责任信息披露与股票价格的关系,结果表明,民营企业社会责任信息披露与股票价格负相关。结合企业社会责任实践及其信息披露现状、投资者基于企业社会责任的投资理念以及资本市场有效性,从作用机制视角分析了形成民营企业社会责任信息披露与股票价格关系的深层原因,并由此就改进企业社会责任及信息披露实践和促进资本市场健康发展为上市民营企业、资本市场投资者和监管者带来启示。     

Analyzing leases with the after-tax cost of debt

A generalized expression of the net advantage of leasing (NAL) is used to assess the implications of discounting incremental cash flows at the firm's before-tax cost of debt and the firm's after-tax cost of debt, respectively. If no personal tax biases are assumed, then the before-tax cost of debt should be used to compute NAL. If the before-tax cost of debt is the correct discount rate, then any change in the firm's borrowing level brought about by the decision to lease rather than purchase will alter the computed NAL by the amount of the present value of the tax savings on interest payments. Thus using the before-tax cost of debt is consistent with basic MM valuation theory. Using the after-tax cost of debt, in contrast, implies that any associated change in the firm's borrowing level is irrelevant for purposes of computing NAL. Sufficient conditions are specified for the after-tax cost of the debt to be the correct discount rate for lease versus purchase analysis. Finally, lease analysis in a MM world is compared to lease analysis in a Miller tax world. For the special case of a 100% leverage ratio, the specification of NAL is the same in both worlds. Use of the after-tax cost of debt is correct in a Miller world and is a good approximation in an MM world provided the cash flows are predominantly debt financed.     

资本结构对我国上市公司控制权溢价的影响

我国上市公司独特的资本结构决定了其独特的控制权配置,从而使我国的控制权市场较主流理论中控制权市场对公司治理的意义弱化了,我国控制权市场更多的表现为控制权增值的场所,控制权转移过程中成交价格与净资产值相比的溢价(或折价)即控制权溢价(或折价)反映了控股股东或内部控制人对未来从控制权中获取私人收益的预期,因此,影响控制权溢价的因素是影响控股股东或内部控制人预期的因素。     

Effects of personal taxes and equity issuing costs on the firm's investment decision

The existence of preferential taxes on capital gains relative to ordinary income is widely understood to create a systematic preference for internal rather than external equity financing. This preference is magnified by the existence of issuing costs on new equity. This paper develops a procedure to account for these market imperfections in terms of an adjusted net present value that directly adjusts a project's net present value calculated without regard to the imperfections. Once the correct adjustment procedure is developed, the practical implications of personal taxes and issuing costs on the firm's investment behavior clearly emerges. These market imperfections have created a discontinuous function for the firm in obtaining equity capital. Many rational wealth-maximizing firms are forced to make investment decisions in a situation similar to capital rationing as the separation theorem between investing and financing does not generally hold. This explanation of a potentially long-run need for capital rationing is consistent with otherwise perfect capital markets.     

我国企业债券融资问题研究

我国资本市场的一个重要特点是企业债券融资发展速度缓慢,其主要原因在于政府政策和制度的管制以及企业自身产权制度不合理、治理机制不健全。尽快形成以市场机制为主导的企业债券管理制度,加强企业产权制度改革,塑造真正的企业债券市场主体,提高全社会资源配置效率,改善资本市场融资结构,是保证国民经济健康发展的当务之急。     

Wirkungen der Abgeltungsteuer auf die Kapitalallokation — Anregungen für eine Reform

The flat tax was introduced in Germany in 2009. It is imposed on income from portfolio investment, such as interest and dividends, but also on gains from stock sales. As this paper shows, the tax causes a massive distortion of after-tax returns in favour of debt capital. The financing structure of companies will therefore change in favour of debt capital. The tax discriminates German investors against foreign investors and the profitability of equity decreases strongly. The withholding tax has serious conceptual weaknesses that cause a massive misallocation of capital and thus a lasting damage to growth in Germany. Several recommendations for the necessary amendments are outlined in the article.     

Exploring determinants of success in corporate ventures

Previous work (Biggadike 1979) has shown that corporate ventures (CVs) typically realize their first profits as eight-year-old “adolescents.” Eightyfour such CVs drawn from the PIMS database were explored to search for strong predictors of financial performance. This analysis resulted in several findings that corporate level managers (i.e., managers of portfolios of business) can act upon to influence CV performance, as well as numerous other findings that lower level managers can use to strategically position their operations better. Some of these findings are either contrary to those reported elsewhere in other studies of CVs or contrary to results of more mature businesses. These conflicting findings should be of particular interest to the growing number of academicans studying CV management.Corporate level managers are responsible for selecting the markets in which they will fund the development of new CVs, and maintaining a corporate environment conducive to the support of the CVs as they develop. Results of this research indicate that in selecting markets to enter, corporate managers should look for situations in which high market growth can potentially reduce the effect of competitive pressures; in which they are likely to realize a technology-based advantage: and in which they can stand up to international competition. An in-house environment stressing a hands off attitude on the part of corporate level managers appears most appropriate.Business level managers directly involved with the operation of the adolescent business can improve their CVs chances of success through good strategic positioning. By aggressively maintaining a high market share after an early entry into a broadly defined market, they can expect to move more quickly down their learning curves and beyond their break-even points. Given the choice of one or the other, a product that stresses quality over price is more likely to produce higher profits, although customers are obviously able to shop for value by considering both price and quality. Finally, any of the adolescent business' resources devoted to vertical integration should emphasize downstream rather than upstream development.Where the supporting results differ from those results expected and/or reported elsewhere, such differences are described and possible explanations offered. Before turning to the results, we need to describe this work's position within a broader context of developing literature on corporate ventures.     

The Effects of Information Disclosure and Board Independence on IPO Discount*

This paper examines the effect of strategic information disclosure and corporate governance on the stock market performance of initial public offering (IPO) firms in France. It argues that information disclosure and board independence mitigate agency problems between the IPO firm and investors, thus reducing the IPO discount defined as the difference between the offer price and the intrinsic value of the firm. However, extensive disclosure may damage the firm's competitive advantage and lead to a curvilinear (an inverted U‐shape) relationship between information disclosure and the IPO discount. Further analysis suggests that it is not necessarily the quantity of information, but rather the type of information, that causes the IPO discount to increase with the amount of disclosure.     

Estimating the Benefits of Individual Retirement Accounts: A Comparison to Capital Gains Investments

This paper compares the benefits of investing funds in an IRA account to the benefits of investing funds in a long-term capital gains investment. The comparison is motivated because IRA funds, although they can be placed in a long-term capital gains account, are ultimately taxed at ordinary income tax rates. IRA funds cannot receive the favorable long-term capital gains tax treatment. Following previous work by Collins, gain factors are computed for IRA accounts vs. long-term capital gains accounts. In most cases the gain factors are larger than one, although much smaller than when the alternative investment is a typical savings account. Gains factors are, however, universally less than one for premature withdrawal of the IRA.     

Determinants of Speed of Adjustment (SOA) toward Optimum Capital Structure: Evidence from Listed Firms in Sri Lanka

This research article aims at examining the determinants of speed of adjustment (SOA) toward the optimum capital structure (OCS). Particularly, this study focuses the impact of firm-specific factors and corporate governance factors on the capital structure adjustment in the Sri Lankan context. The methodology utilizes the benefits of the partial (stock) adjustment model, namely, two-step panel framework using generalised method of moments (GMM) to determine the SOA to OCS. The results indicate that Sri Lankan firms are found to have an OCS and do rapidly adjust toward their target structures. Further this study reveals that profitability, size, tangibility, nondebt tax shields, and governance factors such as directors’ compensation and CEO duality significantly affect the SOA to OCS. The past studies in the emerging market context hardly go into corporate governance factors, leaving a large space for research in the area of capital structure. This study of the listed firms in Sri Lanka contributes to the literature, by examining the determinants of SOA to OCS decision.     

财产保险投资所得课税规则的国际比较及其启示

财产保险投资所得课税规则涉及资本利得的税务处理和一般性投资所得的税务处理两个方面,如何对待实现的和未实现的资本利得或损失是形成税制差异的核心所在。我国应通过扩大投资准备金税前扣除范围、适当降低资本利得适用税率等方式对财产保险投资给予税收支持。     

PRICE EFFECTS OF INDIRECT AND CORPORATE INCOME TAXES: AN INPUT-OUTPUT ANALYSIS*

This article investigates the price effects of indirect and corporate income taxes in the U.S. economy. It uses data from an input-output table from 1977. The lack of substantial agreement in the literature concerning the incidence of these taxes, the classical, market power and industry specific models are used in an effort to identify the plausible range of price variations caused by taxation. This investigation is enlarged with the incorporation of the differential tax incidence analysis. The usefulness of this analysis is that it can shed new light on tax reform proposals and their concomitant effects on prices, workers' purchasing power, and international trade patterns.