Taxation, Bank Leverage, and Financial Crises

 
Author/Editor: Ruud A. de Mooij ; Michael Keen ; Masanori Orihara
 
Publication Date: February 25, 2013
 
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Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate
 
Summary: That most corporate tax systems favor debt over equity finance is now widely recognized as, potentially, amplifying risks to financial stability. This paper makes a first attempt to explore, empirically, the link between this tax bias and the probability of financial crisis. It finds that greater tax bias is associated with significantly higher aggregate bank leverage, and that this in turn is associated with a significantly greater chance of crisis. The implication is that tax bias makes crises much more likely, and, conversely, that the welfare gains from policies to alleviate it can be substantial—far greater than previous studies, which have ignored financial stability considerations, suggest.
 
Series: Working Paper No. 13/48
Subject(s): Tax systems | Corporate taxes | Banks | Financial crisis | Corporate sector | Taxation

 
English
Publication Date: February 25, 2013
ISBN/ISSN: 9781475577709/1018-5941 Format: Paper
Stock No: WPIEA2013048 Pages: 26
Price:
US$18.00 (Academic Rate:
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