Multinational Firms and Tax Havens

Authors

Anna Gumpert, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenFollow
James R. Hines Jr., University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow
Monika Schnitzer, University of Munich, Department of EconomicsFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2016

Abstract

Multinational firms with operations in high-tax countries can benefit the most from reallocating taxable income to tax havens, though this is sufficiently difficult and costly that only 20.4% of German multinational firms have any tax haven affiliates. Among German manufacturing firms, a 1 percentage point higher foreign tax rate is associated with a 2.3% greater likelihood of owning a tax haven affiliate. This is consistent with tax avoidance incentives and contrasts with earlier evidence for U.S. firms. The relationship is less strong for firms in service industries, possibly reflecting the difficulty of reallocating taxable service income.

Recommended Citation

Hines, James R., Jr., co-author. "Multinational Firms and Tax Havens." A. Gumpert and M. Schnitzer, co-authors. The Rev. of Econ. and Stat. 98, no. 4 (2016): 713-27.