Taxpayers' Prepayment Positions and Tax Return Preparation Fees*

Individuals who have their tax returns professionally prepared often overpay estimated income taxes, effectively giving the government an interest‐free loan. To understand why tax professionals may place their clients in positive prepayment positions, we draw on mental accounting theory. Mental accounting theory suggests that by placing taxpayers in positive prepayment positions, tax professionals induce a favorable mental representation of tax return preparation fees, perhaps allowing them to collect larger fractions of billable time and costs incurred on taxpayers' behalves. Thus, we hypothesize that tax return preparation fees are higher for taxpayers in positive prepayment positions than for taxpayers in negative prepayment positions. Regression results using tax return data for 68,736 taxpayers provide strong support for this hypothesis. To more fully understand the general nature of the relationship between taxpayers' prepayment positions and tax return preparation fees, we adapt the prospect theory value function to the tax domain and formulate three additional hypotheses. Consistent with theory, regression results indicate that the relation between taxpayers' prepayment positions and tax return preparation fees is (1) positive, (2) stronger for taxpayers who receive refunds that are less than fees than it is for taxpayers who receive refunds that are greater than fees, and (3) stronger for taxpayers in negative prepayment positions than for taxpayers in positive prepayment positions.     

The Valuation of Cash Flow Forecasts: An Empirical Analysis

This article compares the market value of highly leveraged transactions (HLTs) to the discounted value of their corresponding cash flow forecasts. For our sample of 51 HLTs completed between 1983 and 1989, the valuations of discounted cash flow forecasts are within 10 percent, on average, of the market values of the completed transactions. Our valuations perform at least as well as valuation methods using comparable companies and transactions. We also invert our analysis by estimating the risk premia implied by transaction values and forecast cash flows, and relating those risk premia to firm and industry betas, firm size, and firm book-to-market ratios.     

Early-Life Outdoor Experiences and an Individual's Environmental Attitudes

This study investigated the effects of early-life experiences on an individual's environmental beliefs. Data from a survey of 533 university undergraduate students from 20 areas of academic study were analyzed using sequential regression to determine the degree to which current environmental beliefs could be explained by early childhood experiences. Results showed that four of the seven independent variables (appreciative outdoor activities, consumptive outdoor activities, media exposure, and witnessing negative environmental events) explained 14% of the variance in the eco-centric/anthropocentric beliefs. Three of the independent variables (early-life participation in mechanized outdoor activities, education, and involvement with organizations) were not significant predictors of eco-centric/anthropocentric beliefs. Implications for research and practice were discussed.     

Characteristics, Contracts, and Actions: Evidence from Venture Capitalist Analyses

We study the investment analyses of 67 portfolio investments by 11 venture capital (VC) firms. VCs describe the strengths and risks of the investments as well as expected postinvestment actions. We classify the risks into three categories and relate them to the allocation of cash flow rights, contingencies, control rights, and liquidation rights between VCs and entrepreneurs. The risk results suggest that agency and hold‐up problems are important to contract design and monitoring, but that risk sharing is not. Greater VC control is associated with increased management intervention, while greater VC equity incentives are associated with increased value‐added support.     

The Dynamics of Local Markets: A Case Study of Cameras

Longitudinal data on the availability and prices of two related products in a local market are used to assess the dynamic performance of the markets for these products. Consistent with prior research, a large degree of price dispersion was found for both products. There was some evidence of a modest reduction in price dispersion over time, and of the lowest quality models to “drop out” of the market. Store quality differences and likely search costs did not appear to explain the remaining dispersion.     

The Effects of Inflation and Taxes on the Costs of Home Ownership

This article assesses the impact of inflation on the true economic costs of owning a home. Using the assumption that most pre-tax housing costs are roughly proportionate to house value, it is shown that inflation cuts housing costs substantially for homeowners with mortgages because capital gains income from house price inflation is untaxed but mortgage interest payments are fully deductible. The distribution of tax savings are estimated with national data and it is found that roughly half of all benefits go to families in the top one seventh of the income distribution.     

Securitization and Capital Structure in Nonfinancial Firms: An Empirical Investigation

Contrary to recent accounts of off‐balance‐sheet securitization by financial firms, we show that asset securitization by nonfinancial firms provides a valuable form of financing for shareholders without harming debtholders. Using data from firms’ SEC filings, we find that securitization is attractive to firms in the middle of the credit quality distribution, which are the firms with the most to gain. Upon initiation, firms experience positive abnormal stock returns and zero abnormal bond returns, and largely use the securitization proceeds to repay existing debt. Securitization minimizes financing costs by reducing expected bankruptcy costs and providing access to segmented credit markets.     

A Further Look at the Propagation of Monetary Policy Shocks in HANK

We provide quantitative guidance on whether and to what extent different elements of Heterogeneous Agent New Keynesian (HANK) models amplify or dampen the response of aggregate consumption to a monetary policy shock. We emphasize four findings. First, the introduction of capital adjustment costs does not affect the aggregate response, but does change the transmission mechanism so that a larger share of indirect effects originates from equity prices rather than from labor income. Second, incorporating estimated unequal incidence functions for aggregate labor income fluctuations leads to either amplification or dampening, depending on the data and estimation methods. Third, distribution rules for monopoly profits that allocate a larger share to liquid assets lead to greater amplification. Fourth, assumptions about the fiscal reaction to a monetary policy shock have a stronger effect on the aggregate consumption response than any of the other three elements.