The effect of corporate income taxation on companies financial performance - listed companies on eurozone stock markets Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • The performance evaluation of a company might be based on financial and non-financial factors. However, on top of the main key performance indicators is always profitability. The return on assets and the return on equity are the most used ratios/indicators used to determine financial performance. Therefore, taxation is always a factor that influences the profitability of any business. The tax burden, measured by the tax effect or by the effective tax rate, is an important factor determining the financial performance of companies listed on stock markets. The higher the tax burden (i.e., the lower the tax effect or, the higher the effective tax rate), the lower the profitability and, consequently, the financial performance. Therefore, the differences in the tax law might have an impact on profits taxation. This study aims to analyse the effect of corporate income taxation (tax effect) on return on equity (ROE) of listed companies of eurozone stock markets. The data was collected from listed companies' financial statements in the Eurozone during 2018 (Orbis database). The final sample is based on 750 listed companies from several activity sectors and located in different Eurozone countries. The research results were obtained using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method. The return on equity average is approximately 12,7%. The tax effect average is approximately 71,4% (i.e., 28,6% in terms of effective tax rate). Therefore, the influence of the tax effect is significant. The results suggest that for the companies listed in the Eurozone stock market, a variation of 1% in the fiscal effect generates a 1,243% variation in the same direction of the ROE. The relationship is positive, as was expected.
  • The performance evaluation of a company might be based on financial and non-financial factors. However, on top of the main key performance indicators is always profitability. The return on assets and the return on equity are the most used ratios/indicators used to determine financial performance. Therefore, taxation is always a factor that influences the profitability of any business. The tax burden, measured by the tax effect or by the effective tax rate, is an important factor determining the financial performance of companies listed on stock markets. The higher the tax burden (i.e., the lower the tax effect or, the higher the effective tax rate), the lower the profitability and, consequently, the financial performance. Therefore, the differences in the tax law might have an impact on profits taxation. This study aims to analyse the effect of corporate income taxation (tax effect) on return on equity (ROE) of listed companies of eurozone stock markets. The data was collected from listed companies' financial statements in the Eurozone during 2018 (Orbis database). The final sample is based on 750 listed companies from several activity sectors and located in different Eurozone countries. The research results were obtained using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method. The return on equity average is approximately 12,7%. The tax effect average is approximately 71,4% (i.e., 28,6% in terms of effective tax rate). Therefore, the influence of the tax effect is significant. The results suggest that for the companies listed in the Eurozone stock market, a variation of 1% in the fiscal effect generates a 1,243% variation in the same direction of the ROE. The relationship is positive, as was expected.

publication date

  • January 1, 2021