DP3952 Foreign Ownership and Corporate Income Taxation: An Empirical Evaluation
Author(s): | Harry Huizinga, Gaëtan Nicodème |
Publication Date: | June 2003 |
Keyword(s): | corporate taxation, foreign ownership, tax competition |
JEL(s): | F21, H25 |
Programme Areas: | Public Economics |
Link to this Page: | cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=3952 |
Economic integration in Europe has not led to a ?race to the bottom? regarding corporate income taxes. This Paper documents trends in the foreign ownership of companies in Europe and examines whether foreign ownership has exerted a positive influence on corporate income tax levels. Using company-level data, we document that foreign ownership share in Europe stood at around 21.5% in the year 2000. The estimation suggests that a one percentage point increase in foreign ownership increases the average corporate income tax rate between 0.5-1%. Further international economic integration is likely to lead to higher foreign ownership shares with a concomitant positive influence on corporate taxation levels.