The impact of tax on foreign direct investment: Empirical evidence and the implications for tax integration schemes

We estimate the impact of taxation on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, using data on flows between seven countries for 1984 through 1989, and a sophisticated measure of the cost of capital. We find that the choice between domestic investment and total outward FDI is not significantly affected by taxation but that taxation does affect the location of outward FDI. These results are used to examine the impact of tax integration systems. Giving a tax credit to foreign shareholders may induce a large increase in inward FDI from exemption countries but not from partial-credit countries. For the United States, the total effect would be small.     

Firm-specific forward-looking effective tax rates

This paper computes effective (marginal and average) tax rates that account for bilateral aspects of taxation and, therefore, vary across country-pairs and years. These tax rates serve to estimate the impact of corporate taxation on outbound stocks of bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI) among OECD countries between 1991 and 2002. The findings indicate that outbound FDI is positively related to the parent and host country tax burden and negatively associated with bilateral effective tax rates. Relying only on unilateral (country and time variant) rather than on both unilateral and bilateral (country-pair and time variant) effective tax rates leads to biased estimates of the impact of corporate taxation on FDI.     

Anti profit-shifting rules and foreign direct investment

This paper explores the effects of unilateral tax provisions aimed at restricting multinationals’ tax planning on foreign direct investment (FDI). Using a unique dataset which allows us to observe the worldwide activities of a large panel of multinational firms, we test how limitations of interest tax deductibility, so-called thin-capitalization rules, and regulations of transfer pricing by the host country affect investment and employment of foreign subsidiaries. The results indicate that introducing a typical thin-capitalization rule or making it more tight exerts significant adverse effects on FDI and employment in high-tax countries. Moreover, in countries that impose thin-capitalization rules, the tax-rate sensitivity of FDI is increased. Regulations of transfer pricing, however, are not found to exert significant effects on FDI or employment.     

Convergence of accounting standards and foreign direct investment

Since the development of the eclectic paradigm by Dunning (1977, 1988, 1993), many studies have investigated different forms of location advantages that attract foreign direct investment (FDI). In this study, we consider accounting standards as a component of the institutional infrastructure of a location and hypothesize that the convergence of domestic and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) promotes FDI as it reduces information processing costs for foreign investors.² We also hypothesize that the effect of reduced information costs is stronger for partner countries whose accounting systems showed greater pre-convergence differences because they magnify the facilitating role of accounting standard convergence for FDI. Using bilateral FDI data from 30 OECD countries between 2000 and 2005, we find evidence generally consistent with these hypotheses.     

外商直接投资新动向

2005年单月下降幅度较大,但全年实际利用外资基本持平 这几年我国吸引外商直接投资出现持续正增长,2004年达到606.30亿美元的最高水平,但2005年,这一增长趋势稍微放缓,比上年同期略有下降.2005年全国新设立外商投资企业44001家,同比增长0.77%;实际使用外资金额603.25亿美元,同比下降0.5%.     

Double-edged incentive competition for foreign direct investment

This paper studies the impact of special interest lobbying on competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) in a common agency framework. We argue that special interest lobbying may provide an extra political incentive for governments to attract FDI. We show that compared with the benchmark case where governments maximize national welfare, now (1) an economically disadvantageous country has a chance to win FDI competition; (2) the equilibrium subsidy for attracting FDI is higher than in the benchmark case; (3) allocative efficiency cannot be always achieved.     

Host-country governance, tax treaties and US direct investment abroad

We investigate how the quality of the host-country governance and a bilateral US income tax treaty affect the rates of return that US companies require on their foreign direct investment (FDI). Using indexes of corruption and political instability, we find that poor governance causes the companies to require significantly higher rates of return. This lends support to earlier authors who have concluded that poor governance discourages both local investment and inward FDI. After accounting for the quality of host-country governance, however, no evidence could be found that an income tax treaty has any effect on the required rates of return.      

Anti-tax-avoidance provisions and the size of foreign direct investment

The paper sets up a model of a multinational firm in which the home country uses a credit with deferral or an exemption system and the host country is a low-tax jurisdiction. In this model the impact of anti-tax-avoidance provisions on the size and the growth of the foreign subsidiary is analyzed. Two main results emerge. First, anti-tax-avoidance provisions may lower the cost of capital of foreign firms quite significantly. Second, in contrast to previous models with limited financial possibilities the paper shows that a tax induced growth dynamics is absent if there are some important tax constellations.     

The impact of IFRS adoption on foreign direct investment

By analyzing a panel data set of over 1300 observations covering 124 countries, for the period from 1996 through 2009, this paper tests the basic argument that the adoption of International Foreign Reporting Standards (IFRSs) by a country results in increased foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. Analysis of the data using an ordinary least squares (OLSs) approach provides evidence that adoption of IFRS leads to increased FDI inflows. The analysis indicates, however, that the overall increase in FDI inflows from IFRS adoption is due to the increase in FDI inflows by countries with developing, as opposed to developed, economies. A difference-in-difference test confirms these findings. A key potential driver for IFRS adoption by countries with developing economies is the desire to receive financial aid from the World Bank. This factor is explicitly taken into account using a two-stage instrumental variable (IV) model. The results using the IV model provide strong confirmation of the OLS results.     

Federalism, weak institutions and the competition for foreign direct investment

This paper shows that vertical fiscal inefficiencies impede federally organized countries in successfully attracting foreign direct investment. Such countries, particularly if characterized by weak institutions, are disadvantaged in the process of bidding for firms and in their ability to commit to a low overall tax burden. The interaction of these problems deteriorates their competitive position vis-à-vis unitary states in the competition for foreign direct investment. These theoretical considerations are in line with recent empirical evidence that suggests that the number of government layers of host countries has significant and sizeable negative effects on the amount of foreign direct investment inflows.      

Religious freedom, religious diversity, and Japanese foreign direct investment

Research into the links between religion and foreign direct investment is scarce, partly because research on religion has not been the traditional domain of business and economics. Nevertheless, religion affects the economies, political structures, legal environments, and social behaviors of people around the world and is, therefore, an important element of the international business environments. Foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions are often made after an assessment of the international business environments. This article makes a singular contribution by focusing on the impact of religion – religious freedom and religious diversity – on the foreign direct investment of Japanese companies. We find that national income and religious diversity significantly influence Japanese decisions to invest.     

Determinants of the variability in corporate effective tax rates and tax reform: Evidence from Australia

This study examines the determinants of the variability in corporate effective tax rates in Australia spanning the Ralph Review of Business Taxation reform. Our results indicate that corporate effective tax rates are associated with several major firm-specific characteristics, including firm size, capital structure (leverage) and asset mix (capital intensity, inventory intensity and R&D intensity). While the Ralph Review tax reform had a significant impact on many of these associations, corporate effective tax rates continue to be associated with firm size, capital structure and asset mix after the tax reform.     

Commitment and the time structure of taxation of foreign direct investment

The paper examines the role of commitment to future tax policy as an explanation for tax incentives for foreign direct investment that take the form of rates that increase over time. Both commitment and non-commitment to future tax rates are analyzed using a two-period model with investment determined endogenously in the first period. Without commitment, it is shown that tax rates may increase or decrease with time depending on the relative values of the firms' outside option each period of investing elsewhere in the world and on the responsiveness of investment to a change in the tax rate. With commitment, the time structure of tax rates is shown to depend on the relative rates at which firms and governments discount the future.This is a revised version of a chapter of my Ph.D. dissertation completed at Queen's University (1993). I am grateful to my supervisors Robin Boadway and Beverly Lapham for comments on an earlier version. I also thank Sam Bucovetsky and two anonymous referees for comments and suggestions.     

Sectoral analysis of foreign direct investment and growth in the developed countries

Empirical studies on foreign direct investment (FDI) and growth in developed countries have yielded conflicting results using cross-country regressions. We use sectoral data for a group of six country members of the OECD. Our paper is the first to identify the sector-specific impact of FDI on growth in the developed countries. Our results show that FDI has positive, or no statistically discernible, effect on economic growth directly and through its interaction with labor. Moreover, we find the effects seem to be very different across countries and economic sectors.     

我国对外直接投资中的问题和对策分析

从改革开放以来我国对外直接投资发展的情况和特点来看,现阶段我国对外 直接投资中存在着立法管理不完善、项目规模小、海外投资产业分布不合理及海外企业微观机制不健全等问题,须探索一些解决问题的措施。     

外商投资企业采购国产设备抵免所得税政策实施中存在的问题及修改建议

根据1999年底国务院提出的关于进一步鼓励外商投资的若干意见,国家税务总局陆续颁布了<关于外商投资企业和外国企业购买国产设备投资抵免企业所得税有关问题的通知>(财税字[2000]49号,以下简称"49号文")、<外商投资企业和外国企业购买国产设备投资抵免企业所得税管理办法>(国税发[2000]90号,以下简称"90号文")及<关于外商投资企业和外国企业购买国产设备抵免企业所得税有关执行问题的批复>(国税函[2000]910号,以下简称"910号文"),对外商投资企业和外国企业采购国产设备抵免所得税的优惠政策做了规定.