Dividend Taxation and Firm Performance with Heterogeneous Payout Responses
利用全球金融危机前一项意外的股息税政策变化，发现受影响的公司大幅削减股息但设备投资不变，资金被用于积累所有者个人资产或偿还短期债务。
We analyze the performance of firms that were differentially affected by an unexpected tax on dividends before the global financial crisis. We use exogenous policy variation for firms with different legal statuses and financial year-end dates to separately identify the policy announcement and implementation effects. We provide causal evidence for a sharp drop in dividends but zero change in equipment purchases. Treated firms accumulate investment goods that are likely to be owner-manager’s personal assets instead of productive capital. At a time of severe liquidity shortage, some of the funds kept in the firm are used to pay back short-term debt.