Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Discussion Papers,
Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science

No 2019/1: International Debt Shifting: The Value Maximizing Mix of Internal and External Debt

Jarle Møen (), Dirk Schindler (), Guttorm Schjelderup () and Julia Tropina Bakke ()
Additional contact information
Jarle Møen: Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics, Postal: NHH , Department of Business and Management Science, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway
Dirk Schindler: Dept. of Accounting, Auditing and Law, Norwegian School of Economics, Postal: NHH , Department of Accounting, Auditing and Law, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway
Guttorm Schjelderup: Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics, Postal: NHH , Department of Business and Management Science, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway
Julia Tropina Bakke: SNF - Centre for Applied Research at NHH, Postal: SNF, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway

Abstract: We study the capital structure of multinationals and expand previous theory by incorporating international debt tax shield effects from both internal and external capital markets. We show that: (i) multinationals' firm value is maximized if both internal and external debt are used to save tax; (ii) the use of internal and external debt is independent of each other; (iii) multinationals have a tax advantage over domestic firms, which cannot shift debt across international borders. We test our model using a large panel of German multinationals and find that internal and external debt shifting are of about equal importance.

Keywords: Corporate taxation; multinationals; capital structure; international debt-shifting; tax avoidance

JEL-codes: F23; G32; H25

49 pages, March 29, 2019

Full text files

2592998 PDF-file Full text

Download statistics

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Stein Fossen ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2019_001This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:16:23.