This dissertation was written as
part of the MSc in
International Accounting,
Auditing and Financial Management
at the International Hellenic University.
This study investigates
whether family firms are more aggressive in terms of
tax planning than non
-
family firms in Greece, based on a sample of firms listed on the
ASE(Athens Stock Exchange) from
2011
-
2016.
It
is examined also the effect of
companies’ borrowing capacity on the level of tax aggressiveness. Also, I
analyze the
importance of tax aggressiveness in Greece which is a country with a high level of tax
avoidance and also I summarize the literature on it
focusing on
the measurement, the
decisive factors and the consequences of tax aggressiveness. In addition, I describe the
agency theory
in relation to tax avoidance
and I examine the role of family ownership
structure in tax aggressiveness
.
Using a sample
of 81 Greek listed firms for the six
-
year
period, 2011 to 2016, I
find
a significant relationship between classification as a family
firm and tax aggressiveness, based on one metric, the effective tax rate which captures
the actual taxes paid in relation
to pre
-
tax earnings. The family firms in the sample
were more tax aggressive than the non
-
family firms as ETR had a negative sign,
identifying a tendency for family firms to pay lower taxes.
On the other hand,
regarding the second hypothesis,
the coefficient of Coverage ratio is positive and this
means that the borrowing capacity is negative associated with tax aggressiveness.
Collections
Show Collections