Search Results (38)

This paper examines the effect of board characteristics on tax avoidance and the moderating role of industry regulation on this effect. Using a comprehensive panel of 84,153 firm-year observations from 39 countries during the period of 2000–2023, we illustrate that larger boards, higher female representation, significant foreign ownership, and the presence of independent directors are generally associated with higher effective tax rates, suggesting lower levels of tax avoidance. This study further demonstrates that the effects of board gender diversity and board independence are more pronounced in regulated industries, where stringent governance and ethical standards prevail, emphasizing the importance of regulatory oversight in mitigating aggressive tax planning. These findings are crucial for policymakers, regulators, and corporate governance practitioners aiming to align corporate practices with ethical standards and reduce the risks associated with tax avoidance. Full article

Auditing stands to be a strong enforcement mechanism in bringing tax compliance, safeguards public revenue and is strongly influenced by communication between auditors and audited taxpayers. This present work studied the opinions of auditors of the auditing body of the Public Revenue Research and Assurance Services (Y.E.D.D.E.) in order to investigate the communication between them and the taxpayers in the context of the preventive audit. Primary research was conducted. Findings from previous research were utilized and a questionnaire was used to collect primary data. The survey was conducted all over Greece by randomly sampling 120 auditors. This study provides useful insights for policymakers and implies that investigating the causes of taxpayers’ aggressiveness, providing lifelong education to auditors, enhancing collaboration between auditors and the fairness and efficiency of the tax system would have a beneficial effect on the communication between tax auditors and taxpayers and thus on tax compliance. Full article

This study examines the moderating role of female audit committee chairs on the relationship between audit quality (measured by audit fees) and corporate tax avoidance. The analysis is based on 165 UK firms between 2011 and 2021 using static panel data regression models and Lewbel’s heteroscedastic identification method to check robustness. The findings highlight the significant role of audit quality in reducing corporate tax avoidance. In addition, the female audit committee chair strengthens the negative relationship between audit quality and tax avoidance. This study has many implications. For corporate governance, it shows the value of female leadership in audit committees, especially in curbing aggressive tax strategies. Firms should increase female representation in key roles, like audit committee chairs, to improve oversight and ethical financial practices. For regulators and policymakers, it supports the case for strengthening gender diversity mandates to improve corporate transparency and accountability. Tax authorities can use the fact that firms with strong audit quality and female-led audit committees are less likely to engage in tax avoidance to focus their audits on companies with weaker governance structures. Full article

This study investigates the effect of audit committee characteristics on the level of tax aggressiveness. Drawing on a sample of 72 French listed firms from the SBF120 index for the period from 2015 to 2022, this study measures the level of tax aggressiveness through the effective tax rate (cash ETR). The descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, variance inflation factor (VIF), and feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) regression were used for analysis of panel data. The findings reveal that measures of the independence of the audit committee, expertise of the audit committee, and audit committee size are significantly linked to tax aggressiveness. The findings also highlighted that the frequency of audit committee meetings is weakly linked to tax aggressiveness. The effectiveness of audit committee members can send a strong signal to the tax authorities, the shareholders, regulators, and the investors who are concerned about the risk of tax aggressiveness. This study contributes to the existing literature aimed at exploring the effect of audit committee characteristics on tax aggressiveness in a French context. This study has several implications for regulators, policymakers, and academia. It helps the policymakers and regulators in policy reforms who aim at combating aggressive tax practices in France, which is one of the primary objectives within the European Union (EU) framework. Full article

Nowadays, businesses in Ukraine face new challenges that the world has never experienced before. Earlier, during the war, countries had to curtail their economic activities, everything operated for the sake of military needs. However, now, within hybrid wars, the country’s economy and its actors have to demonstrate rapid adaptive models and changes in strategies, and sometimes function without strategies at all. Advanter Group conducted a survey of 696 Ukrainian enterprises in the period from 20 December 2023 to 8 January 2024 (a year of full-scale aggression); a direct questionnaire method was used. Key hypotheses (10 hypotheses) regarding the resilience factors of Ukrainian businesses during the period of the full-scale invasion were tested using statistical analysis methods. Statistically significant differences were established in various aspects of the functioning of SMBs. Based on the research, it is concluded that reforms in the legal sphere, aimed at facilitating conditions for business and protecting the rights of enterprises, are an urgent necessity for the further development of the economy of Ukraine. Practical recommendations arising from the research are presented, including reducing the level of uncertainty for business, revising the tax system, creating incentives for the development of SMBs, and increasing the transparency and stability of the conditions for resource mobilization. Several key principles of the national policy aimed at facilitating conditions for the development of entrepreneurship and anti-corruption are also suggested. Full article

Currently, the UK has ambitious plans to reach net zero by 2050, despite other countries such as Russia and India targeting 2060 and 2070, respectively. Assuming that the UK emissions unceasingly decline at a given rate annually towards achieving net zero by 2050, its economy would need to ensure a reduction of 105 MtCO2 per year of its emissions from the current 2021 levels. Given that global greenhouse gas emissions have not peaked and continue to rise, the UK seeks to implement costly and aggressive emission reduction policies towards fulfilling commitments under the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact. This paper investigates the effect of environmental taxes on environmental degradation in the UK between 2000Q1 and 2019Q4 using novel Fourier approaches. Using the novel Fourier ARDL estimator, the long-run equilibrium estimates indicate that gross domestic product and environmental tax cause a fall in carbon emissions. However, in trade and primary energy use, a unit change caused rising carbon emissions in the UK. Especially, the results indicate that environmental taxes have a negative effect on environmental degradation in the UK, and ecological tax policy could be considered as an effective channel to attain environmental sustainability. The outcome provides the following policy insights: (i) The government of the UK should support international environmental tax coordination mechanisms, especially on carbon pricing, to avoid relocation of carbon-intensive investments. (ii) The UK government must note that imposing more taxes to encourage emissions reductions could bring complexity to the tax system and unnecessarily bring costly ways to deal with climate change. Higher domestic electricity prices could disproportionately hit low-income households and create distributional cost concerns, which require benefit payouts or compensation schemes. (iii) Switching to electric vehicles simultaneously requires investments in charging infrastructure and battery technologies. To avoid this chicken-and-egg problem, the government of the UK could play a coordinating role, including deploying targeted subsidies, regulations, direct government involvement, or setting higher carbon prices in special cases. Full article

This study investigates the intricate relationship between corporate financial strategies, encapsulated by book-tax differences (BTDs), and firms’ engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs during economic crises. Using an unbalanced panel dataset drawn from financial, annual, and sustainability reports of over 97 Indonesian non-financial firms from 2017 to 2022, this study reveals that economic crises and CSR activities positively influence total BTD and permanent differences. Notably, firms strategically leverage CSR initiatives amidst crises to enhance their corporate image and manage internal challenges like aggressive tax planning. The robustness of these findings was validated through endogeneity analysis and by examining sub-samples from industries most impacted by the pandemic. In the industries least affected by the pandemic, the direct impact of CSR on BTD was found to be negative, indicating that in the general context, the CSR programs held by these industries are largely driven by normative motives. However, when specified in the crisis context, CSR serves as a strategic buffer for these industries, which reaffirms the prevalence of CSR strategic motives during Indonesia’s pandemic challenges. The findings suggest policy implications for shareholders, regulators, and policymakers to ensure CSR transparency aligns with long-term corporate values and societal impact, incentivizing genuine CSR practices amidst economic uncertainty. Despite its contributions, the study recommends future research explore different domains of CSR and validate findings across diverse contexts to enrich the understanding of CSR’s role in corporate resilience strategies. Full article

The relationship between corporate tax planning (CTP) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is complex, with various perspectives, and a detailed scientific analysis of this relationship is required. This complexity arises from the conflicting interests of maximizing shareholder value through tax strategies while meeting societal expectations of ethical behaviour and transparency. So, the main objective of this research is to reveal the state of the art regarding the relationship between these two concepts. To achieve this goal and map the scientific literature relating to CTP and CSR, the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases were used, resulting in a screening process identifying 47 relevant articles. The methodology employed is hybrid, combining a systematic review and category analysis. The main results reveal a strong relationship between corporate tax planning and CSR. Tax avoidance is the focus, followed by tax aggressiveness due to the conflict between shareholder benefits and social obligations. In addition, the most tested theory is risk management. This study highlights the interdisciplinary nature of CTP and CSR research, integrating accounting, business ethics, and management for a holistic understanding of corporate behaviour. The focus on tax avoidance underscores its key role in the CTP-CSR relationship, reinforcing theories that link tax practices to corporate ethics and suggesting aggressive tax strategies can undermine CSR efforts. As the main practical implication, the study suggests that policymakers should promote transparency in companies’ tax practices and encourage CSR activities, aligning companies’ behaviour with society’s expectations and improving compliance with tax obligations. Full article

Indonesia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is not adequately reflected in the significant CO₂ emissions from fossil-fuel-intensive energy sectors, despite the enormous potential of renewable energy sources in the country. The ongoing coal regime has led to electricity oversupply and air pollution problems. Despite the huge challenges for Indonesia, a just energy transition away from fossil fuel is crucial. This study aims to explore the ideal energy mix and key emission reduction pathway in Indonesia in achieving a just energy transition using the least-cost optimisation energy modelling tool OSeMOSYS. Six scenarios are modelled over the period 2015–2050 including coal phase-out, NDC, the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), and carbon tax implementation. The results highlight that solar power, geothermal power, and hydropower are the alternatives for coal decommissioning. Despite the large-scale investment in renewable energy under the NDC and JETP scenarios, emissions could be reduced by 55% and 52%, respectively, by 2050. Moreover, Indonesia’s current carbon tax rate will not lead to a significant emission reduction. Three recommended policies include (1) accelerating CFPP retirement; (2) imposing an aggressive carbon tax rate; (3) prioritising investment in solar technologies. Full article

HTLV-1 is an oncogenic human retrovirus and the etiologic agent of the highly aggressive ATL malignancy. Two viral genes, Tax and Hbz, are individually linked to oncogenic transformation and play an important role in the pathogenic process. Consequently, regulation of HTLV-1 gene expression is a central feature in the viral lifecycle and directly contributes to its pathogenic potential. Herein, we identified the cellular transcription factor YBX1 as a binding partner for HBZ. We found YBX1 activated transcription and enhanced Tax-mediated transcription from the viral 5′ LTR promoter. Interestingly, YBX1 also interacted with Tax. shRNA-mediated loss of YBX1 decreased transcript and protein abundance of both Tax and HBZ in HTLV-1-transformed T-cell lines, as well as Tax association with the 5′ LTR. Conversely, YBX1 transcriptional activation of the 5′ LTR promoter was increased in the absence of HBZ. YBX1 was found to be associated with both the 5′ and 3′ LTRs in HTLV-1-transformed and ATL-derived T-cell lines. Together, these data suggest that YBX1 positively influences transcription from both the 5′ and 3′ promoter elements. YBX1 is able to interact with Tax and help recruit Tax to the 5′ LTR. However, through interactions with HBZ, YBX1 transcriptional activation of the 5′ LTR is repressed. Full article

Adult T cell leukemia (ATL) is an aggressive hematologic disease caused by human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection. Various animal models of HTLV-1 infection/ATL have been established to elucidate the pathogenesis of ATL and develop appropriate treatments. For analyses employing murine models, transgenic and immunodeficient mice are used because of the low infectivity of HTLV-1 in mice. Each mouse model has different characteristics that must be considered before use for different HTLV-1 research purposes. HTLV-1 Tax and HBZ transgenic mice spontaneously develop tumors, and the roles of both Tax and HBZ in cell transformation and tumor growth have been established. Severely immunodeficient mice were able to be engrafted with ATL cell lines and have been used in preclinical studies of candidate molecules for the treatment of ATL. HTLV-1-infected humanized mice with an established human immune system are a suitable model to characterize cells in the early stages of HTLV-1 infection. This review outlines the characteristics of mouse models of HTLV-1 infection/ATL and describes progress made in elucidating the pathogenesis of ATL and developing related therapies using these mice. Full article

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with distinct clinical and molecular characteristics. Scientific advances in molecular subtype differentiation support the understanding of cellular signaling, crosstalk, proliferation, survival, migration, and invasion mechanisms, allowing the development of new molecular drug targets. The breast cancer subtype with super expression and/or amplification of human growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is clinically aggressive, but prognosis significantly shifted with the advent of anti-HER2 targeted therapy. Zoledronic-acid (ZOL) combined with a neoadjuvant Trastuzumab-containing chemotherapy regimen (Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide followed by Docetaxel, Trastuzumab) increased the pCR rate in a RH-positive/ HER2-positive subgroup, according to the phase II Zo-NAnTax trial. To verify genes that could be related to this response, a microarray assay was performed finding 164 differentially expressed genes. Silico analysis of these genes showed signaling pathways related to growth factors, apoptosis, invasion, and metabolism, as well as differentially expressed genes related to estrogen response. In addition, the RAC3 gene was found to interact with the MVD gene, a member of the mevalonate pathway. Taken together, these results indicate that RH-positive/ HER2-positive patients present gene alterations before treatment, and these could be related to the improvement of pCR. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of gender diversity in corporate board and CEO experience in terms of the relationship between tax aggressiveness and corporate social responsibility of UAE-listed companies. By applying correlation and regression analysis on a data set of 55 firms from 2014 to 2020, it is found that board gender diversity does not moderate the relationship between tax aggressiveness and CSR. However, a female CEO positively moderates this relationship. It is also found that CEO experience negatively moderates the relationship between tax aggressiveness and CSR. It is recommended that policymakers improve checks and balances so that male dominance can be reduced to give women opportunities to be involved in decision-making. Full article

This study analyzed whether the level of tax avoidance of delisted firms differs from that of non-delisted firms. A decrease in the corporate sustainability of listed firms eventually leads to delisting. If the financial risk of firms increases, the incentive to avoid taxes will also increase. In this case, an extremely aggressive tax strategy might negatively impact sustainability and prove to be non-continuous. This induces the possibility of delisting. Accordingly, this study analyzed whether delisted firms perform more tax avoidance than non-delisted companies from the perspective of corporate sustainability. The results of this study are as follows. The results of analyzing whether the cash effective tax rate and effective tax rate, which are proxies of tax avoidance, are different reveal that the cash effective tax rate and effective tax rate of the delisted companies are significantly low. This suggests that delisted companies are receiving more incentives to avoid taxes. Additionally, this study also analyzed whether there is a difference in tax risk between delisted and non-delisted companies. The results reveal that the delisted companies have a significantly higher tax risk. This study contributes to the literature on the tax strategy of delisted companies. It also contributes to enhancing the understanding of corporate sustainability. Full article

Our study evaluated the effectiveness of using eight pathways in combination for a complete to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy by 2050. These pathways included renewable energy development; improving energy efficiency; increasing energy conservation; carbon taxes; more equitable balancing of human wellbeing and per capita energy use; cap and trade systems; carbon capture, utilization, and storage; and nuclear power development. We used the annual ‘British Petroleum statistical review of world energy 2021’ report as our primary database. Globally, fossil fuels, renewable (primarily hydro, wind and solar), nuclear energy accounted for 83%, 12.6%, and 6.3% of the total energy consumption in 2020. To achieve zero fossil fuel use by 2050, we found that renewable energy production will need to be increased by up to 6-fold or 8-fold if energy demand is held constant at, or increased 50% from, the 2020 energy demand level. Constraining 2050 world energy demand to a 25% increase over the 2020 level, improves the probability of achieving independence from fossil fuels. Improvements in energy efficiency need to accelerate beyond the current rate of ~1.5% per year. Aggressive application of energy conservation policies involving land use and taxation could potentially reduce world energy use by 10% or more by 2050. Our meta-analysis shows that the minimum level of per capita energy consumption that would allow 8 billion people to have a ‘Decent Living Standard’ is on average ~70 GJ per capita per year, which is 93% of the 2020 global average. Developed countries in temperate climates with high vehicle-dependency needed ~120 GJ per capita year⁻¹, whereas equatorial countries with low vehicle-dependency needed 30 GJ per capita year⁻¹. Our meta-analyses indicated replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy by 2050 may be possible but will require aggressive application of all eight pathways, major lifestyle changes in developed countries, and close cooperation among all countries. Full article