Tax Aggressiveness and Accounting Conservatism in Incentivized and Non-Incentivized Companies
Tax Aggressiveness; Accounting Conservatism; Economic Performance; Basu; Tax Breaks.
The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between accounting conservatism, fiscal aggressiveness and economic performance in incentivized and non-incentivized companies, with relevance for the contribution that their results can bring to the academic literature regarding tax aggressiveness and its effects on the profitability of companies, especially in companies that are already tax-benefited and that have not yet been analyzed in other academic studies by this prospect. By comparing the aggressiveness in incentivized and non-incentivized companies, it is possible to assess whether favorable tax conditions inhibit unconventional tax practices, since the waiver of this portion of taxes affects all taxpayers in general. For this study, the sample was composed of data from 249 companies listed in B 3, in the period from 2010 to 202, excluding financial companies because they are subject to different accounting rates and standards, companies without sufficient information and the company from B3 . The model used for this analysis was that of Basu (1997), adapted with the control variables regarding tax aggressiveness through the Book Tax Difference (BTD) and Effective Tax Rate (GAAP_ETR). The empirical evidence of this research indicated an interaction between accounting conservatism and the economic performance of incentivized and nonincentivized companies, but it was found that accounting conservatism negatively affects the results of companies. Regarding tax aggressiveness, it was noted from the variable GAAP_ETR and BTD that both groups of companies have aggressive tax planning practices, but their interaction with accounting conservatism was found only in relation to BTD in the group of incentivized companies and GAAP_ETR in the group of non-incentivized companies. Therefore, in view of the findings, the research hypothesis was rejected, since the accounting conservatism of non-incentivized companies does not cause effects on tax aggressiveness and economic performance different from those of incentivized companies.