Quasi-experiment on corporate income taxes and firm behavior: Organizational forms in the Meiji era and the 21st century

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K03510
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Public finance/Public economy
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Onji Kazuki 大阪大学, 経済学研究科, 教授 (80709858)
• Research Collaborator: Gordon Roger H. University of California at San Diego, Economics Department, Professor ; Tang John P. Australian National University, Research School of Economics, Senior Lecturer
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 法人税 / 租税回避 / 明治時代 / 組織再編成税制 / 法人なり / 合併買収

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project examines the role of corporate income tax and its design through two empirical analyses. 1) I utilize corporate-level data from the Meiji period and showed that the introduction of a personal income tax in 1887 induced firms to incorporate for tax purposes. This result indicates the role of a corporate income tax as a backstop to a personal income tax. 2) I document unintended consequences of the 2001 tax reform in spreading certain types of tax avoidance strategies involving mergers. This evidence suggests that policy makers can influence corporate merger decisions through the tax policy.

Free Research Field

公共経済学