The Impact of Agency Costs on Tax Avoidance, Investment, and Firm Value
Asian Tax Journal Vol. 25 No. 6 (2024), pp. 101-131
Abstract
This study used the least squares estimation method(2SLS) to verify hypotheses on the relationship between agency costs and tax avoidance, the relationship between tax avoidance and investment according to the level of agency costs, and the relationship between investment and corporate value according to the level of agency costs, and analyzed data on companies listed on the Korea Exchange and KOSDAQ from 2016 to 2022. The difference from previous studies is that first, the investment amount was measured as the amount spent on tangible and intangible assets at the time of actual investment, not at the time of asset acquisition. Second, both economic value added (EVA) and modified Tobin’s Q were used as measures of corporate value, and internal performance and external evaluation were considered together. Third, it was shown that companies with low agency costs avoid taxes as a means of securing internal funds for efficient investment that increases corporate value, thereby identifying the purpose of tax avoidance by companies with low agency costs. Fourth, to measure agency costs, both corporate governance structure(controlling shareholder ratio, foreign share ratio) and transactions between special related parties were considered. The results of the empirical analysis are as follows. First, as agency costs increase, tax avoidance decreases, indicating that controlling shareholders of firms with agency problems do not engage in tax avoidance that requires effort and strategy. Second, as tax avoidance increases, firms with low agency costs see increased investment, indicating that they suppress private use of internal funds secured through tax avoidance and use them for investment. Third, as investment increases in firms with low agency costs, both the modified Tobin’s Q, which is the corporate value by market evaluation, and the economic value added (EVA), which is the corporate value by internal performance, increase, indicating that firms with low agency costs increase corporate value by making efficient investments with internal funds secured through tax avoidance.
Keywords
- agency cost
- tax avoidance
- capital expenditures
- firm value
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