AVAR Analysis of the Impacts of Company Tax Rates on Foreign Direct Investment and other Macro-economic Variables in Australia

Abstract

Taxation policy has been recognized as a main determinant of foreign direct investment (FDI). However, the effect of taxation policy on other key macro-economic variables of interest has received little attention in the literature. This paper seeks to establish the long-run effects of a change in the Australian company tax rate on inbound FDI and other Australian macro-economic variables using vector autoregression (VAR) analysis to account for the interrelatedness of the variables under consideration. Results indicate that FDI, real gross domestic product (GDP) and trade with the rest of the world are all responsive to a change in the company tax rate.