Share Repurchases

The UK government recently introduced legislation to treat the qualifying distribution on a repurchase of shares in the same way as ‘foreign income dividends’. This paper examines and criticises this reform from two perspectives. First, there is no underlying rationale for such an approach. Second, the legislation moves the tax system away from simplification. A better approach would have been to remove the advance corporation tax (ACT) charge on a repurchase. JEL classification: H25, K34.     

Home-based entrepreneurship and multiple roles—an inter-role conflict

Home-based entrepreneurship has been identified as an alternative source of employment and income for residents of non-metropolitan communities. Although economic and social advantages of home-based work have been identified, negative factors associated with home-based entrepreneurship have also been reported Home-based entrepreneurs may experience inter-role conflict as a result of an overlapping of roles (i.e. work/family) within the environs of the home. Findings from interviews with home-based entrepreneurs are discussed in relation to the multiplicity of roles of the home-based entrepreneur. Further, implications are addressed concerning the conflicts arising from multiple role demand as a home-based entrepreneur.     

The Effect of Firms' Information Exposure on Safeguarding Employee Health: Evidence from COVID-19

We show that information exposure through international business networks enables firms to take proactive measures that benefit employees and potentially the local community. Specifically, in the early days of COVID-19, firms that have business networks with China and Italy are more likely to be aware of the severity of the disease, and proactively implement work-from-home (“WFH”) policies that can protect their employees. Using Safegraph foot traffic data, we find a higher stay-at-home ratio before local governments impose lockdowns in zip codes where firms have a larger information exposure. These areas are also associated with a lower spread of COVID-19. Our main findings are more pronounced when local governments face constraints in quickly responding to COVID-19 and when firms have a higher WFH capability or have more investors with socially responsible preferences. Collectively, we present evidence on the role of private corporations in mitigating the negative effects of a public health crisis before government intervention.