The Effects of Taxation on Multinational Corporations

The tax rules of the United States and other countries have intended and unintended effects on the operations of multinational corporations, influencing everything from the formation and allocation of capital to competitive strategies. The growing importance of international business has led economists to reconsider whether current systems of taxing international income are viable in a world of significant capital market integration and global commercial competition. This volume examines the effect of tax policy on international investment choices by presenting in-depth analyses of the interaction of international tax rules and the investment decisions of multinational enterprises. Ten papers assess the role of investment by multinational firms in the U.S. economy and the design of international tax rules for multinational investment; analyze channels through which international tax rules affect the costs of international business activities; and examine ways in which international tax rules affect financing decisions of multinational firms. As a group, the papers demonstrate that international tax rules have significant effects on firms' investment and other financing decisions. This state-of-the-art volume will be of interest to researchers in public finance and international economics and to policymakers concerned with tax policy and international investment issues.