Taxation And The Financial Crisis

This book examines how tax policies contributed to the financial crisis; whether taxation can play a role in the reform efforts to establish a sounder and safer financial system; and the pros and cons of various tax initiatives.

That most corporate tax systems favor debt over equity finance is now widely recognized as, potentially, amplifying risks to financial stability. This paper makes a first attempt to explore, empirically, the link between this tax bias and the probability of financial crisis. It finds that greater tax bias is associated with significantly higher aggregate bank leverage, and that this in turn is associated with a significantly greater chance of crisis. The implication is that tax bias makes crises much more likely, and, conversely, that the welfare gains from policies to alleviate it can be substantial—far greater than previous studies, which have ignored financial stability considerations, suggest.

This book offers a comprehensive guide to modern day taxation issues. It presents a thorough overview of many of the crucial aspects of applied taxation and current tax systems, and presents evidence that supports taxation as an important policy issue requiring immediate address globally. Contributions seek to address the core question of how to design a tax policy mix that can serve primarily efficiency, growth and possibly equity goals at a time where fiscal spending, for many economies, is not a viable option. Chapters provide a historical perspective on taxation, then go on to cover aspects of the modern theory of optimal taxation and tax design and provide valuable international perspectives on current tax practices and much required tax reforms. Empirical analysis on taxation and related economic data help the readers to understand how data-based observations and results are linked to the theory of taxation, and more importantly economic growth, before offering appropriate policy prescriptions. This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners interested in learning more about taxation and why it matters today in the global economy.

The recent recession has brought fiscal policy back to the forefront, with economists and policy makers struggling to reach a consensus on highly political issues like tax rates and government spending. At the heart of the debate are fiscal multipliers, whose size and sensitivity determine the power of such policies to influence economic growth. Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis focuses on the effects of fiscal stimuli and increased government spending, with contributions that consider the measurement of the multiplier effect and its size. In the face of uncertainty over the sustainability of recent economic policies, further contributions to this volume discuss the merits of alternate means of debt reduction through decreased government spending or increased taxes. A final section examines how the short-term political forces driving fiscal policy might be balanced with aspects of the long-term planning governing monetary policy. A direct intervention in timely debates, Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis offers invaluable insights about various responses to the recent financial crisis.

The 2008 financial crisis is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. It has been characterised by a housing bubble in a context of rapid credit expansion, high risk-taking and exacerbated financial leverage, leading to deleveraging and credit crunch when the bubble burst. This paper discusses the interactions between tax policy and the financial crisis. In particular, it reviews the existing evidence on the links between taxes and many characteristics of the crisis. Finally, it examines some possible future tax options to prevent such crises.

Analytical and empirical perspectives on the interplay of taxation and regulation in the financial sector.

The financial crisis has prompted a reconsideration of the taxation of financial institutions, with practice outstripping principle: France, Germany, the United Kingdom and several other European countries have now introduced some form of bank tax, and the U.S. administration has revived its own proposal for such a charge. This paper considers the structure, appropriate rate, and revenue yield of corrective taxation of financial institutions addressed to two externalities, consequent on excessive risk-taking, prominent in the crisis: those that arise when such institutions are simply allowed to collapse, and those that arise when, to avoid the harm this would cause, their creditors are bailed out. It also asks whether corrective taxation or a regulatory capital requirement is the better way to address these concerns. The results suggest a potential role for taxing bank borrowing, perhaps as an adjunct to minimum capital requirements, at marginal rates that rise quite sharply at low capital ratios (but are likely lower when the government cannot commit to its bailout policy), reaching levels higher than those of the bank taxes so far adopted or proposed.

ÔThis book is an exceptionally interesting and well-researched analysis of one of the most important reforms in global governance that have been put into place in the wake of the global financial crisis that began in 2007. Eccleston insightfully draws on and contributes to theories of global governance, explaining the surprisingly innovative and successful aspects of the global arrangements for combating tax evasion while also highlighting their deficiencies.Õ Ð Tony Porter, McMaster University, Canada ÔIn the atmosphere of fiscal emergency after the financial crisis, international tax policy has become a critical concern. There is no better guide to inter-linked political and economic challenges that result than Richard EcclestonÕs new book, The Dynamics of Global Economic Governance. Eccleston provides a detailed and authoritative guide to global tax governance after the financial crisis, and makes a highly persuasive case that the current international tax regime is fundamentally flawed in its efforts to combat tax evasion.Õ Ð Jason Sharman, Griffith University, Australia The financial crisis that engulfed global markets in 2008 created an acute need for improved international economic cooperation. Despite the G20Õs prominent coordination role, the regulatory response to the crisis has varied considerably across governance arenas. This book focuses on international taxation and examines how the financial crisis prompted renewed attempts to enhance international tax transparency and confront tax havens. It highlights the complexity of international regime change and the significance of national and financial interests, international organizations, domestic politics and the emerging G20 leaders forum in this process. This timely book highlights the challenges in post-financial crisis global economic governance, information that will strongly appeal to scholars and graduate students in the fields of political science, international political economy, global governance, international taxation and law. Stakeholders in the international tax regime including diplomats and tax administrators, international organizations, NGO and business representatives will also find plenty of enriching information in this study.