Firm-specific Determinants of Aggressive Tax Management among East African Firms

Since tax represents an inflow of revenue to the government and an outflow of revenue to firms, factors that influence the tax planning activities of firms have gained considerable attention among management, shareholders, policymakers and researchers. Following the impact of taxation on an economy...

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Main Authors: Alfred James Kimea, Msizi Mkhize, Haruna Maama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EconJournals 2023-05-01
Series:International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues
Subjects:
Online Access:https://econjournals.com/index.php/ijefi/article/view/13476
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author Alfred James Kimea
Msizi Mkhize
Haruna Maama
author_facet Alfred James Kimea
Msizi Mkhize
Haruna Maama
author_sort Alfred James Kimea
collection DOAJ
description Since tax represents an inflow of revenue to the government and an outflow of revenue to firms, factors that influence the tax planning activities of firms have gained considerable attention among management, shareholders, policymakers and researchers. Following the impact of taxation on an economy and a firm, the study investigated the factors that influence aggressive tax management practices of firms listed in East African economies. Data were collected from 99 firms for an 11-year period, from 2008 to 2018. Both cash effective tax rate and accounting effective rate were used as measures of tax planning. Multiple regression models were used for the estimation. The study results showed that smaller firms are more tax aggressive compared with larger firms, which is consistent with the political cost theory. This finding may alert policymakers and regulatory authorities (for example, revenue authorities) that small firms are most likely to avoid paying taxes compared with larger firms. This might be associated with fewer regulations and enforcements imposed on this category of business. The evidence further demonstrated that profitable firms are less tax aggressive. Consistent with the political power theory, this study has confirmed the view that profitable firms have enough earnings to pay their taxes and thus are less tax aggressive. The study further found that older firms are less involved in tax avoidance. This study has policy implications as it will assist both policymakers and firm management in their decision-making. Shareholders and firm management would benefit by understanding why some firms successfully reduce their tax burden compared to other firms.
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spelling doaj.art-60b8284d1b104e35a2fb2a279366f81e2023-05-14T13:46:40ZengEconJournalsInternational Journal of Economics and Financial Issues2146-41382023-05-0113310.32479/ijefi.13476Firm-specific Determinants of Aggressive Tax Management among East African FirmsAlfred James Kimea 0Msizi Mkhize1Haruna Maama2School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa,College of Law and Management Studies, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa,Department of Financial Accounting, Durban University of Technology, South Africa. Since tax represents an inflow of revenue to the government and an outflow of revenue to firms, factors that influence the tax planning activities of firms have gained considerable attention among management, shareholders, policymakers and researchers. Following the impact of taxation on an economy and a firm, the study investigated the factors that influence aggressive tax management practices of firms listed in East African economies. Data were collected from 99 firms for an 11-year period, from 2008 to 2018. Both cash effective tax rate and accounting effective rate were used as measures of tax planning. Multiple regression models were used for the estimation. The study results showed that smaller firms are more tax aggressive compared with larger firms, which is consistent with the political cost theory. This finding may alert policymakers and regulatory authorities (for example, revenue authorities) that small firms are most likely to avoid paying taxes compared with larger firms. This might be associated with fewer regulations and enforcements imposed on this category of business. The evidence further demonstrated that profitable firms are less tax aggressive. Consistent with the political power theory, this study has confirmed the view that profitable firms have enough earnings to pay their taxes and thus are less tax aggressive. The study further found that older firms are less involved in tax avoidance. This study has policy implications as it will assist both policymakers and firm management in their decision-making. Shareholders and firm management would benefit by understanding why some firms successfully reduce their tax burden compared to other firms. https://econjournals.com/index.php/ijefi/article/view/13476Tax Planning, Tax Management, Cash Effective Tax Rate, Accounting Effective Tax Rate
spellingShingle Alfred James Kimea
Msizi Mkhize
Haruna Maama
Firm-specific Determinants of Aggressive Tax Management among East African Firms
International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues
Tax Planning, Tax Management, Cash Effective Tax Rate, Accounting Effective Tax Rate
title Firm-specific Determinants of Aggressive Tax Management among East African Firms
title_full Firm-specific Determinants of Aggressive Tax Management among East African Firms
title_fullStr Firm-specific Determinants of Aggressive Tax Management among East African Firms
title_full_unstemmed Firm-specific Determinants of Aggressive Tax Management among East African Firms
title_short Firm-specific Determinants of Aggressive Tax Management among East African Firms
title_sort firm specific determinants of aggressive tax management among east african firms
topic Tax Planning, Tax Management, Cash Effective Tax Rate, Accounting Effective Tax Rate
url https://econjournals.com/index.php/ijefi/article/view/13476
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