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Corporate taxes, strategic default, and the cost of debt

Author

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  • Nejadmalayeri, Ali
  • Singh, Manohar
Abstract
The current US tax code’s loss carry provisions provide implicit tax subsidies to financially troubled firms. Since shareholders ultimately decide when to announce bankruptcy, such tax subsidies can incentivize them to strategically postpone default. Therefore, corporate taxation can influence corporate cost of debt. Using a large panel of corporate bonds, we find supporting evidence: credit spreads become smaller as tax loss carries grow larger. In contrast, tax shields such as depreciation, which limit loss carry gains, lead to wider spreads. Interestingly, when stockholders hold greater bargaining power – due to large managerial ownership – larger corporate tax shields lead to even narrower credit spreads.

Suggested Citation

  • Nejadmalayeri, Ali & Singh, Manohar, 2012. "Corporate taxes, strategic default, and the cost of debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2900-2916.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:36:y:2012:i:11:p:2900-2916
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2011.07.021
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Jun & King, Tao-Hsien Dolly & Wen, Min-Ming, 2015. "Do joint ventures and strategic alliances create value for bondholders?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 247-267.
    2. Kim, Gi H., 2016. "Credit derivatives as a commitment device: Evidence from the cost of corporate debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 67-83.
    3. Ali Nejadmalayeri & Subramanian Rama Iyer & Manohar Singh, 2017. "Is there an optimally diversified conglomerate? Gleaning answers from capital markets," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 117-158, July.
    4. Sami Attaoui, 2016. "Capital Structure And Tax Convexity When The Maturity Of Debt Is Finite," International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance (IJTAF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(01), pages 1-20, February.
    5. Nejadmalayeri, Ali & Nishikawa, Takeshi & Rao, Ramesh P., 2013. "Sarbanes-Oxley Act and corporate credit spreads," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2991-3006.
    6. Siamak Javadi & Ali Nejadmalayeri & Timothy L Krehbiel, 2018. "Do FOMC Actions Speak Loudly? Evidence from Corporate Bond Credit Spreads [Communication and monetary policy]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 22(5), pages 1877-1909.
    7. Martin Dòzsa & Karel Janda, 2015. "Corporate asset pricing models and debt contracts," CAMA Working Papers 2015-33, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate tax; Credit spreads; Endogenous bankruptcy; Strategic default;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G13 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Contingent Pricing; Futures Pricing

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