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European banks and tax havens: evidence from country-by-country reporting

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  • Petr Janský
Abstract
Banks in the European Union have recently started publicly reporting data on profit, employee numbers, turnover and tax on a country-by-country basis; this new data source is capable of indicating to what extent banks’ profits are geographically aligned with their activities. I introduce one of the largest, hand-collected, publicly available data sets of its kind, which covers almost 50 banks for up to 5 years between 2013 and 2017. Using the data set, I identify the main locations of European bank’s profits, which include major European economies as well as countries often considered tax havens. I find that some of the tax havens have maintained high shares of profits in contrast with their much lower shares of employees or, to a lesser extent, turnover. These results indicate that while banks are likely shifting their profits to tax havens, even more detailed data would need to be published by banks to facilitate a direct observation of profit shifting.

Suggested Citation

  • Petr Janský, 2020. "European banks and tax havens: evidence from country-by-country reporting," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(54), pages 5967-5985, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:52:y:2020:i:54:p:5967-5985
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2020.1781773
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    Cited by:

    1. Petr Procházka, 2020. "Jurisdictions with lowest effective tax rates in the post-BEPS landscape - CbCR evidence and implications," European Financial and Accounting Journal, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2020(1), pages 33-52.
    2. Sarah Godar & Giulia Aliprandi & Tommaso Faccio & Petr Janský & Katia Toledo Ruiz, 2024. "The long way to tax transparency: lessons from the early publishers of country-by-country reports," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(2), pages 593-634, April.
    3. Giulia Aliprandi & Mona Baraké & Paul-Emmanuel Chouc, 2021. "Have European Banks left tax haven? Evidence from country-by-country data," Working Papers halshs-03350725, HAL.
    4. Yahaya, Mohammed Baba & Oon, Elaine Yen Nee & Jusoh, Ruzita, 2024. "CEO Duality and Bank Tax Avoidance: The Moderating Role of Risk Committees - An International Evidence," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 74(1), pages 73-104.
    5. Murphy Richard & Janský Petr & Shah Atul, 2019. "BEPS Policy Failure—The Case of EU Country-By-Country Reporting," Nordic Tax Journal, Sciendo, vol. 2019(1), pages 63-86, January.
    6. Hackett, Franki & Janský, Petr, 2023. "Incremental improvement: Evaluating the emancipatory impact of public country-by-country reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    7. Petr Procházka, 2018. "Implementation of EU directives regarding BEPS Action Plan in Czechia and other Central and Eastern European states [Implementace směrnic EU týkajících se Akčního plánu BEPS v Česku a dalších zemíc," Současná Evropa, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2018(2), pages 36-48.
    8. Dutt, Verena & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2021. "Der EU-Vorschlag zum Country-by-Country Reporting im Internet: Kosten, Nutzen, Konsequenzen," Studien, Stiftung Familienunternehmen / Foundation for Family Businesses, number 250010.
    9. Mona Barake, 2023. "Tax Planning by European Banks," Working Papers halshs-03925346, HAL.
    10. Dutt, Verena K. & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2021. "The EU proposal for country-by-country reporting on the internet: Costs, Benefits and Consequences," Studien, Stiftung Familienunternehmen / Foundation for Family Businesses, number 250025.
    11. Müller, Raphael & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2020. "On the determinants and effects of corporate tax transparency: Review of an emerging literature," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-063, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    12. Olbert, Marcel & Spengel, Christoph & Weck, Stefan, 2023. "Multinational firms in tax havens: Corporate motives, regulatory countermeasures, and recent statistics," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-036, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Dutt, Verena K. & Nicolay, Katharina & Spengel, Christoph, 2021. "Reporting behavior and transparency in European banks' country-by-country reports," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-019, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Dutt, Verena K. & Nicolay, Katharina & Vay, Heiko & Voget, Johannes, 2019. "Can European banks' country-by-country reports reveal profit shifting? An analysis of the information content of EU banks' disclosures," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-042, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H87 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods

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