Empirical evidence for the impact of taxes on national and international mergers and acquisitions

税收可以通过不同的渠道影响并购。一方面，税收可能导致锁定效应。如果资本收益的税收负担太高，公司所有者不会出售。虽然交易在经济上是可取的，例如，由于协同效应，并导致福利收益，但由于资本利得税，它们不会发生。另一方面，企业可以利用税收筹划来弥补这种税收劣势。或者通过提高收购价格将税收负担转嫁给收购方。公司可以用股票交换来代替现金。如果收购的再融资成本在高税收国家扣除，而被收购企业的收益在低税收国家征税，这甚至可能导致税收补贴。在分析了资本利得税对上一个项目期间购买价格的影响之后，我们现在检查税收在多大程度上确实阻碍了交易。资本利得税会减少并购的总数和总量吗？第二个重点是并购领域的税收筹划程度。在上一个项目期间，我们已经可以显示出收购后税收筹划的一些影响。我们的研究结果表明，收购方能够使用比旧所有者更有效的税务规划工具。我们现在想要研究税率差异和其他国际税法差异在多大程度上影响税收规划机会。高税收国家目标公司的杠杆率是否比低税收国家的目标公司增加得更多？税基的减少在高税收国家是否特别明显？第三个重点是税法复杂性对投资活动的影响。并购是否比绿地投资受到的影响更大？

Taxes can affect mergers and acquisitions through different channels. On the one hand taxes can cause a lock-in effect. Firm owners do not sell if the tax burden on capital gains is too high. Although transactions are economically desirable, e.g. because of synergies, and result in welfare gains, they do not take place because of capital gains taxation.On the other hand firms may use tax planning to compensate this tax disadvantages. Or they shift the tax burden on the acquirer through an increased purchase price. Firms e.g. may use a stock swap instead of cash. If the refinancing cost of an acquisition is deducted in a high tax country, while the earnings of the acquired firm are taxed in a low tax country, this may even result in a tax subsidy.Having analyzed the effects of capital gains taxation on purchase prices in the last project period, we now examine to what extent taxes indeed hinder transactions. Does capital gains taxation reduce the overall number and volume of mergers and acquisitions?The second focus is on the degree of tax planning in the field of mergers and acquisitions. In the last project period we already could show some effects of tax planning after an acquisition. Our results indicate that the acquirer is able to use more efficient tax planning tools than the old owner. We now would like to examine to what extent tax rate differences and other international differences in tax law affect tax planning opportunities. Does the leverage of target firms in high tax countries increase more than in low tax countries? Is the decrease in the tax base especially pronounced in high tax countries?The third focus is on the impact of tax law complexity on investment activity. Are mergers and acquisitions affected more heavily than greenfield investments?