Essays on the Investment and Tax Revenue Effects of Tax Loss Offset Provisions

Abstract

"Investment is the fundamental source of firm value and economic growth." (Hanlon and Heitzman, 2010, p. 147) Firms decide on investments based on the expected future cash flows. Since existing tax systems are not decision-neutral, a rational decisionmaker includes tax payments in his decision calculus when choosing between tax-relevant investments. It is not sufficient to only use the statutory tax rate in order to determine the effective tax burden of an investment project. Instead, it is additionally of importance to consider aspects of the tax base. One aspect of the tax system which re...