Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/85904
Year of Publication: 
2002
Series/Report no.: 
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper No. 02-114/2
Publisher: 
Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam and Rotterdam
Abstract: 
This paper provides evidence that keiretsu group member firms are subject to lowereffective tax rates than independent firms in Japan. As one explanation for this phenomenon, wedevelop a hypothesis that keiretsu firms strategically shift financially reported income amongaffiliates in order to reduce overall effective tax rates. Empirical evidence supports this income-shifting hypothesis since the positive relationship between pretax return m firm value and marginaltax rate status is significantly mitigated by keiretsu membership. Further, it appears that keiretsuincome shifting activities intensify when Japanese firms face economic recession, contrastingconjecture of weakening strength of keiretsu affiliation during this period. We also find evidencesupporting the view that benefactors of shifted income are compensated via increased dividends.
Subjects: 
Keyretsu
income shifting
marginal tax rate.
JEL: 
G32
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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