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Debt and taxes: Evidence from the real estate industry

Author

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  • Barclay, Michael J.
  • Heitzman, Shane M.
  • Smith, Clifford W.
Abstract
Compelling empirical evidence documenting a material effect of corporate taxes on leverage decisions is limited, in part because of difficulties in constructing an effective proxy for the firm's tax benefit of debt. We examine leverage decisions across taxable and nontaxable real estate firms—firms for which we can measure the relative tax benefit of debt with little error. The tax hypothesis implies that for firms with similar asset portfolios, taxable firms should have more debt than their nontaxable counterparts. Consistent with this, leverage ratios of taxable real estate firms are higher than their nontaxable counterparts, but the magnitude of this difference is at most one-half of that implied by studies that employ simulated marginal tax rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Barclay, Michael J. & Heitzman, Shane M. & Smith, Clifford W., 2013. "Debt and taxes: Evidence from the real estate industry," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 74-93.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:20:y:2013:i:c:p:74-93
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2012.12.002
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    4. Peter Vaz da Fonseca & Andrea Decourt Savelli & Michele Nascimento Juca, 2020. "A Systematic Review of the Influence of Taxation on Corporate Capital Structure," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 155-178.
    5. Mehnaz, Laura & Rahman, Asheq & Kabir, Humayun, 2023. "Covenant violation concern and investors’ pricing of Level 3 fair value adjustments," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3).
    6. Daniel Broxterman & Tingyu Zhou, 2023. "Information Frictions in Real Estate Markets: Recent Evidence and Issues," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 203-298, February.
    7. Doan, Trang & Nguyen, Nga Q., 2018. "Boards of directors and firm leverage: Evidence from real estate investment trusts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 109-124.
    8. Peter Vaz da Fonseca & Michele Nascimento Juca, 2020. "The Influence of Taxes on Foreign Direct Investment: Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 55-77.
    9. Valcacer, Santiago & José de Moura, Heber & Lopes , David & Amorim , Vinicius, 2017. "Capital structure management differences in Latin American and US firms after 2008 crisis," Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, Universidad ESAN, vol. 22(42), pages 51-74.
    10. Quoc Trung Nguyen Kim, 2023. "Does COVID-19 affect small and medium enterprises’ capital structure in vietnam?," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 2190268-219, December.
    11. Kelvin Jui Keng Tan, 2017. "Why Do Overconfident REIT CEOs Issue More Debt? Mechanisms and Value Implications," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 53(3), pages 319-348, September.
    12. Kodongo, Odongo & Mokoaleli-Mokoteli, Thabang & Maina, Leonard, 2014. "Capital structure, profitability and firm value: panel evidence of listed firms in Kenya," MPRA Paper 57116, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. John, Kose & Knyazeva, Anzhela & Knyazeva, Diana, 2015. "Governance and Payout Precommitment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 101-117.
    14. Peter Vaz da Fonseca & Michele Nascimento Juca & Wilson Toshiro Nakamura, 2020. "Debt Tax Benefits in a High Tax Emerging Market: Evidence from Brazil," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 35-52.
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    17. Jamie Alcock & Eva Steiner, 2018. "Fundamental Drivers of Dependence in REIT Returns," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 4-42, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital structure; Taxes; Marginal tax rates; Organizational form;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General

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