The Inital Effect of U.S. Tax Reform on Foreign Acquisitions

Harald J. Amberger, Leslie Robinson

Publikation: Working/Discussion PaperWU Working Paper

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Abstract

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 marked a significant change in U.S. domestic and international tax policy, altering incentives for U.S. firms to own foreign assets. We examine the initial response of U.S. firms’ foreign acquisition patterns to the TCJA’s key reform provisions. We find a significant overall decrease in the probability that a foreign target is acquired by a U.S. firm after the reform, suggesting that the net effect of the TCJA was to reduce investment abroad. Cross-sectional variation across target and acquirer characteristics points to the elimination of the repatriation tax and the TCJA’s Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) regime as playing a critical role in influencing cross-border acquisitions by U.S. firms. Specifically, U.S. acquirers with little foreign presence prior to the TCJA are more likely to acquire a foreign target, while U.S. acquirers are less likely to acquire profitable targets in low-tax countries. Results from our empirical analyses are consistent with the TCJA prompting fewer but more value-enhancing, less tax-motivated, foreign M&A deals by U.S. firms.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
ErscheinungsortVienna
HerausgeberWU Vienna University of Economics and Business
Seitenumfang53
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 29 Okt. 2021
Extern publiziertJa

Publikationsreihe

ReiheWU International Taxation Research Paper Series
Nummer2020-06

WU Working Paper Reihe

  • WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

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