What If Dividends Were Tax-Exempt? Evidence from a Natural Experiment
利用瑞士2011年公司税改中部分企业突然能支付免税股息的独特情境，研究发现减税后企业股息支付增加约30%，但投资并未提升，且代理冲突严重的企业反应较弱。
Abstract We study the effect of dividend taxes on the payout and investment policies of publicly listed firms. We exploit a unique setting in Switzerland where, following the corporate tax reform of 2011, some but not all firms were suddenly able to pay tax-exempt dividends. We show that treated firms increase their dividend payout by around 30$\%$ after the tax cut. The effect on payout is less pronounced for firms prone to agency conflicts. We find a significant positive abnormal stock return after the announcement of the payment of a tax-exempt dividend. However, reducing dividend taxes does not boost investment.