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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between auditor characteristics and the level of tax avoidance in an emerging market.

In this regard, the effect of various factors such as auditor tenure, auditor industry specialization, audit reports and audit fees on tax avoidance was examined. The study sample includes listed companies in the Tehran Stock Exchange. The time period of study is six years from 2011 to 2016. Also in this study, firm size, leverage, firm age and auditor size were controlled.

The results of this research were determined in four hypotheses. First and second hypotheses that explore the relationship between auditor tenure and auditor industry specialization with tax avoidance were not confirmed. But the results showed a significant relationship between the type of audit opinions and audit fees with tax avoidance.

The current study investigates the auditor characteristics on tax avoidance in a developing nation of Iran and the results may helpful the developing countries.

This paper aims to examine the impact of corporate tax planning (TP) on tax disclosure (TD). Using tax expenses data set, with the detailed effective tax rate (ETR) by reconciling individual items of income and expenses.

A firm-level panel data set is used to analyse 286 non-financial listed companies on Bursa Malaysia that spans the period 2010-2012. Multivariate statistical analyses were run on the sample data. The empirical understanding of TD depends on public sources of data in the financial statement, characterized in the aggregated note of tax expenses. Fitting with Malaysian environment, the authors measured TD using modified ETR reconciling items.

Results show that TP, exhibit a robust positive influence on TD. This suggests that TP is related to lower corporate TD. In addition, companies with high TP attempt to mitigate the disclosure problem by increasing various TD. The authors further find significant positive impact between each of firm size and industry dummy, on TD. This means that company-specific characteristics are significant factors affecting corporate TD.

This study contributes to the literature on the effect of TP on TD. It depends on both the signalling theory and the Scholes–Wolfson framework, which are the main theories concerned with TP and TD. Therefore, from a theoretical side, the authors add to the current theories by verifying that users are the party influenced whether positively or negatively, by the extent of TD or the extent of TP activities through Malaysian organizations.

The evidence found in this paper has important policy and practical implications for the authorities, researchers, decision makers and company managers. The findings can provide them some relevant insights on the importance of TP actions from companies’ perspective and contribute to the discussion of who verifies and deduces from TD directed by companies.

This paper originality is regarded as the first attempt to examine the impact of TP on TD in a developing country such as Malaysia. Malaysian setting is an interesting one to examine because Malaysia could be similar to other countries in Southeast Asia. Results contribute significant insights to the discussion about TD regarding, which parties are responsible for the verification of TD by firms, and which parties benefit from this disclosure. Findings suggest that companies face a trade-off between tax benefits and TD when selecting the type of their TP.

The structure of corporate governance, as one of the important elements to be considered based on the different characteristics than other companies, such as women, expertise, tenure and management is different. But two measures for the presence of women in the board of directors and the size of director’s board are considered as corporate content characteristics that can affect corporate tax strategies in avoiding tax or taxes timely pay off. The purpose of this paper is to understand the demographic characteristics of the board of directors structure on the board and tax avoidance in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

Sample includes the 505 firm-year observations from companies listed on the TSE during the years 2012–2016 and research hypothesis was tested using multivariate regression model based on panel data.

The results indicate that female presence on the board of directors reduces the corporate tax avoidance. Additionally, firms with a larger size of board of directors are associated with more tax avoidance.

The current study is almost the first study which has been conducted in Iran, so the findings of the study not only extend the extant theoretical literature concerning the tax avoidance in developing countries including emerging capital market of Iran, but also help investors, capital market regulators and accounting standard setters to make informed decisions.

The case involved four accountants, a barrister and 12 separate tax ‘avoidance’ schemes. The accountants and the barrister were charged on an indictment with 14 counts of cheating the public revenue by falsely representing that the apparent purchases by the UK companies were bona fide commercial transactions.

This paper applies Bhabha’s concept of the third space to frame an understanding of Prem Sikka’s use of digital media to bridge the academic–activist binary. In doing this, the paper makes two contributions. First, it conceptualises Sikka’s engagement, and second, through the lens of the third space, it analyses it to establish whether, in the era of the neoliberal corporatised university, public intervention has the potential to generate new perspectives and new knowledge.

Sikka’s articles and blogs for the period 20 February 2002 to 15 April 2020 were analysed using Leximancer, a textual analysis software programme that displays the output visually. A discriminant analysis was used to identify where each year of the study is situated in the overall semantic analysis. Netnography, the examination of archived published texts, was then used to analyse the responses by members of the public, academics, accountants and auditors, tax experts, policy makers and regulators to Sikka’s digital media engagement.

As a third space practitioner, Sikka has overcome some of the shortcomings associated with academic research to challenge the activities of professional accounting firms, regulatory bodies and multinational corporations. Through extending the boundaries of accounting and accountability, he has facilitated new radical alliances aiming to create a just and equitable society. The paper also finds that by opening up a third space of engagement, academic activists’ work can play an essential part in social transformation and emancipatory change framed in terms of social justice and equity.

This is one of the few papers to provide an in-depth examination of the activities of an accounting activist over twenty years.

A taxpayer who gets caught under Part VII of the Mauritius Income Tax Act is subjected to a corrective measure only in the form of payment of the amount of tax that would have been due in the absence of the avoidance arrangement, but the consequences set out in the same section do not result in any disincentive to the taxpayer that would ensure the prevention of the occurrence of such type of anti-avoidance practices in the future. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the anti-avoidance provisions in the Mauritius legislation as a weapon against impermissible tax avoidance, and the study also intends to critically analyse the remedies available against taxpayers who enter into impermissible tax avoidance transactions.

The methodology adopted for this qualitative study consists of a critical analysis and comparative legal review of the relevant legislation, case laws and literature. The anti-avoidance provisions of the Mauritius legislation will be compared with similar provisions of legislations of countries that have rigid preventive rules for anti-avoidance practices, and the selected countries are the UK and Australia because each country has been successful in diminishing the tax avoidances practices further to the imposition of penalties for impermissible tax avoidance. The black letter approach will also be used through which existing legal provisions, judicial doctrines, scholar articles and budget speeches governing anti-avoidance provisions for each country identified will be analysed.

Further to an analysis of the substantial differences between Mauritius anti-avoidance legal provisions and those of the UK and Australia, it is found that the backing of corrective actions by penalties act as a disincentive to prohibit impermissible anti-avoidance practices. The study concludes that, where there is abuse of law, the law needs to provide for penalties that must be suffered by the abuser, and hence, the study calls for an amendment in the Mauritius Income Tax Act to strengthen anti-avoidance provisions, by adopting similar provisions of the laws of Australia and the UK.

At present, there is no Mauritius literature on the researched topic, and this study will be one of the first academic writings on the subject of penalties for impermissible tax avoidance in Mauritius. The study is a new and unique topic in Mauritius, and for that reason, the study will largely rely on foreign sources that deal with penalties for impermissible tax avoidance, and this will include the Australian Taxation Administrative Act 1953, Australian case laws and the UK Finance Act 2016. This study is being carried out with the view to provide insightful recommendations to the stakeholders concerned in Mauritius to enhance the revenue collection avenues and methodologies for the Mauritius revenue authorities.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss tax and accounting issues related to the evolution of the intellectual property box in Portugal and present a preliminary view of its impact. In 2014, Portugal adopted an Intellectual Property (IP) box, exempting from corporate taxation half of the gross revenue obtained from selling IP rights. In 2016, the country adopted a new IP regime, in line with BEPS’ recommendations, with stricter rules for exempting income. The “modified nexus approach”, recommended by the OECD, was the cornerstone of legal changes. The research questions addressed in this paper are as follows: was the Portuguese IP box, set up in 2014, internationally competitive in terms of the scope of qualifying assets and the tax rate when compared to other EU countries? Could its legal design induce potential corporate tax avoidance? Does the new IP box framework reduce avoidance opportunities and does it increase tax and accounting complexity for companies and tax auditors?

The methodology used in this paper is based on the legal research method combined with a case study analysis of the IP box in Portugal. The economic motivation for legal changes, the interaction between the tax authorities and the policy makers in the wake of BEPS’ recommendations, and the economic crisis that Portugal faced, influenced legislative options. A multidisciplinary approach is required to analyse the IP box modifications, and the methodology follows this line of enquiry.

The author concludes that the 2014 IP box was not competitive in terms of the scope of qualifying assets and the tax rate. However, it could be a potential tool for tax avoidance, mainly linked to transfer pricing strategies. Legal changes, introduced in 2016, by enacting stricter rules for granting tax benefits, fit a worldwide trend of restraining profit shifting opportunities linked to intangibles. The new framework clearly impacts tax and accounting complexity, for companies and tax auditors. Preliminary data, for 2014 and 2015, show a negligible impact of the IP box on corporate taxation.

The “modified nexus approach” is not a definitive panacea for fighting tax avoidance. Multinationals may move resources (e.g. highly specialized persons) to entities that are developing IP, curtailing the restriction associated with acquiring services from related parties. Tax authorities may fight these schemes, but face a challenging task. The grandfathering option and new accounting choices related to expense allocation are delicate issues. Not all countries adopted BEPS’ recommendations at the same time, which may impact international profit shifting activities and increase tax authorities’ costs to control them. The paper also provides preliminary and exploratory evidence that IP boxes, per se, do not suddenly raise the R&D activity of firms.

The analysis highlights legal, accounting and economic issues in dealing with changes in investment incentives and can or may be a useful remainder for countries in the process of setting up, or amending, IP boxes.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect links between corporate governance and tax avoidance using corporate social responsibility (CSR).

This study is based on a sample consisting of 300 UK and 200 French firms over the period 2005-2017. This study is motivated by structural equations and system models that specify both a direct link and an indirect link between corporate governance and tax avoidance.

The results show that CSR fully mediates the relationship between corporate governance and tax avoidance in UK firms. In addition, in French firms, CSR partially mediates the relation between corporate governance and tax avoidance.

The findings may be of interest to the academic researchers, practitioners and regulators who are interested in discovering corporate governance score, tax avoidance and CSR. Regulators must evaluate their actual corporate governance mechanisms and their country’s legal system before mandating additional governance mechanisms for firms in their country.

This study proved empirically that firms with a higher level of social responsibility are better positioned to obtain more transparency through reducing tax avoidance.

This paper extends the existing literature by examining the mediation effect of CSR on the relationship between tax avoidance and corporate governance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of country-level governance and accounting standards on corporate tax avoidance.

This paper is an empirical work using a sample of listed companies from 36 countries.

This paper finds that firms resident in countries with stronger country-level governance engage in less tax avoidance. Aspects of stronger country-level governance include higher government effectiveness and regulatory quality, and stronger enforcement of law and control of corruption. This paper also finds that firms adopting international accounting standards (IFRS) engage in less tax avoidance than those using local accounting standards. Further examination of the effect of interactions between country-level governance and the adoption of IFRS on tax avoidance finds that there is a substitute relationship between country-level governance and the adoption of IFRS.

This study has significant implications for policy makers, corporate management and academics. It documents that when a country implements governance targeting improving government effectiveness, enhancing regulatory quality, strengthening enforcement of laws and controlling corruption, this will lead to less corporate tax avoidance. It also shows that the adoption of IFRS will reduce corporate tax avoidance, probably by enhancing accounting quality and disclosure, and that the adoption of IFRS provides a bond mechanism in reducing tax avoidance in countries with weak governance.

This paper is the first study to examine the impact of country-level governance on tax avoidance at the corporate level. It is also the first study to examine how country-level governance interplays with IFRS in shaping firms’ tax avoidance activities.