Curbing Corporate Debt Bias
Curbing Corporate Debt Bias

Author: Ruud A. de Mooij

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2017-02-10

Total Pages: 20

ISBN-13: 1475578296

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Tax provisions favoring corporate debt over equity finance (“debt bias”) are widely recognized as a risk to financial stability. This paper explores whether and how thin-capitalization rules, which restrict interest deductibility beyond a certain amount, affect corporate debt ratios and mitigate financial stability risk. We find that rules targeted at related party borrowing (the majority of today’s rules) have no significant impact on debt bias—which relates to third-party borrowing. Also, these rules have no effect on broader indicators of firm financial distress. Rules applying to all debt, in contrast, turn out to be effective: the presence of such a rule reduces the debt-asset ratio in an average company by 5 percentage points; and they reduce the probability for a firm to be in financial distress by 5 percent. Debt ratios are found to be more responsive to thin capitalization rules in industries characterized by a high share of tangible assets.

Pouring Oil on Fire: Interest Deductibility and Corporate Debt
Pouring Oil on Fire: Interest Deductibility and Corporate Debt

Author: Pietro Dallari

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-12-07

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 1484389107

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This paper investigates the role of tax incentives towards debt finance in the buildup of leverage in the nonfinancial corporate (NFC) sector, using a large firm-level dataset. We find that so-called debt bias is a significant driver of leverage, for both small and medium-sized enterprises and larger firms, with its effect accounting for about a quarter of leverage. The strength of this effect differs with firm size, the availability of collateral, income and income volatility, cash flow, and capital intensity. We conclude that leveling the playing field between debt and equity finance through tax policy reform would decrease NFC leverage, reducing economic risks posited by leverage.

Financial Sector Debt Bias
Financial Sector Debt Bias

Author: Ms.Oana Luca

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2016-11-10

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 1475552807

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Most tax systems create a tax bias toward debt finance. Such debt bias increases leverage and may negatively affect financial stability. This paper models and estimates debt bias in the financial sector, and present novel estimates for investment banks and non-bank financial intermediaries such as finance and insurance companies. We find debt bias to be pervasive, explaining as much as 10 percent of total leverage for regular banks and 20 percent for investment banks, with the effects most pronounced before the global financial crisis. Going forward, debt bias is likely to once again gain prominence as a key driver of leverage decisions, underscoring the importance of policy reform at this juncture.

Global Waves of Debt
Global Waves of Debt

Author: M. Ayhan Kose

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2021-03-03

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 1464815453

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The global economy has experienced four waves of rapid debt accumulation over the past 50 years. The first three debt waves ended with financial crises in many emerging market and developing economies. During the current wave, which started in 2010, the increase in debt in these economies has already been larger, faster, and broader-based than in the previous three waves. Current low interest rates mitigate some of the risks associated with high debt. However, emerging market and developing economies are also confronted by weak growth prospects, mounting vulnerabilities, and elevated global risks. A menu of policy options is available to reduce the likelihood that the current debt wave will end in crisis and, if crises do take place, will alleviate their impact.

Key Aspects of Macroprudential Policy - Background Paper
Key Aspects of Macroprudential Policy - Background Paper

Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2013-10-06

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13: 1498341713

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The countercyclical capital buffer (CCB) was proposed by the Basel committee to increase the resilience of the banking sector to negative shocks. The interactions between banking sector losses and the real economy highlight the importance of building a capital buffer in periods when systemic risks are rising. Basel III introduces a framework for a time-varying capital buffer on top of the minimum capital requirement and another time-invariant buffer (the conservation buffer). The CCB aims to make banks more resilient against imbalances in credit markets and thereby enhance medium-term prospects of the economy—in good times when system-wide risks are growing, the regulators could impose the CCB which would help the banks to withstand losses in bad times.

At A Cost: the Real Effects of Transfer Pricing Regulations
At A Cost: the Real Effects of Transfer Pricing Regulations

Author: Ruud A. de Mooij

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-03-23

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 1484351479

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Unilateral adoption of transfer pricing regulations may have a negative impact on real investment by multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper uses a quasi-experimental research design, exploiting unique panel data on domestic and multinational companies in 27 countries during 2006-2014, to find that MNC affiliates reduce their investment by over 11 percent following the introduction of transfer pricing regulations. There is no significant reduction in total investment by the MNC group, suggesting that these investments are most likely shifted to affiliates in other countries. The impact of transfer pricing regulations corresponds to an increase in the ``TPR-adjusted'' corporate tax rate by almost one quarter.

Building Tax Capacity in Developing Countries
Building Tax Capacity in Developing Countries

Author: Juan Carlos Benitez

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2023-09-19

Total Pages: 33

ISBN-13:

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Tax capacity—the policy, institutional, and technical capabilities to collect tax revenue—is part of a deeper process of state building that is essential for achieving the sustainable development goals. This Staff Discussion Note shows that developing countries have made some progress in revenue mobilization during the past decades. However, much more is needed. We find that a staggering 9 percentage-point increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio is feasible through a combination of tax system reform and institutional capacity building. Achieving this calls for a holistic and institution-based approach that focuses on improving policy, administration and legal implementation of core taxes. The note offers practical lessons and guidance, based on IMF capacity building experience in this area.

A Firm Lower Bound: Characteristics and Impact of Corporate Minimum Taxation
A Firm Lower Bound: Characteristics and Impact of Corporate Minimum Taxation

Author: Aqib Aslam

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-06-08

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 1513561073

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This paper examines the role of minimum taxes and attempts to quantify their impact on economic activity. Minimum taxes can be effective at shoring up the corporate tax base and enhancing the perceived equity of the tax system, potentially motivating broader taxpayer compliance. Where political and administrative constraints prevent reforms to the standard corporate income tax, a minimum tax can help mitigate base erosion from excessive tax incentives and avoidance. Using a new panel dataset that catalogues changes in minimum tax regimes over time around the world, firm-level analysis suggests that the introduction or reform of a minimum tax is associated with an increase in the average effective tax rate of just over 1.5 percentage points with respect to turnover and of around 10 percent with respect to operating income. Minimum taxes based on modified corporate income lead to the largest increases in effective tax rates, followed by those based on assets and turnover.

Islamic Finance
Islamic Finance

Author: Hans Visser

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2019-12-27

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1786433508

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In this extensively updated third edition, Hans Visser explores the ideas and concepts that drive and shape Islamic finance. This incisive book reviews the products, institutions and markets offered by Islamic finance in the modern marketplace, offering a critical discussion of the ways in which fiscal and monetary policy can be adapted to Islamic financial institutions. Visser offers new directions for economics and finance students, as well as students of Islamic finance and Islam studies more broadly.

IMF Research Bulletin, Summer 2017
IMF Research Bulletin, Summer 2017

Author: International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2017-08-11

Total Pages: 19

ISBN-13: 1484315448

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The Summer 2017 issue of the IMF Research Bulletin highlights new research such as recent IMF Working Papers and Staff Discussion Notes. The Research Summaries are “Structural Reform Packages, Sequencing, and the Informal Economy (by Zsuzsa Munkacsi and Magnus Saxegaard) and “A Broken Social Contract, Not High Inequality Led to the Arab Spring” (by Shantayanan Devarajan and Elena Ianchovichina). The Q&A section features “Seven Questions on Fintech” (by Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli). The Bulletin also includes information on recommended titles from IMF Publications and the latest articles from the IMF Economic Review.