Is Corporate Taxation Bad for the Environment? An Empirical Analysis of the Association between State-Level Taxation and Corporate Environmental Performance

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dc.contributor.authorMeersman, James Ellioten
dc.contributor.committeechairDavidson, Robert H.en
dc.contributor.committeechairAcito, Andrew A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberChakravarti, Dipankaren
dc.contributor.committeememberLisic, Ling Leien
dc.contributor.departmentBusiness, Accounting and Information Systemsen
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-10T08:00:11Zen
dc.date.available2024-07-10T08:00:11Zen
dc.date.issued2024-07-09en
dc.description.abstractI investigate the impact of statutory tax rates on U.S. firms' environmental performance. Prior literature emphasizes the effect of manager influence on the relation between tax avoidance and environmental activities. However, it is unclear how taxes imposed on a firm impact environmental performance. Firms subject to higher statutory tax rates experience more restricted cash flows. As such, higher statutory tax rates may limit managers' ability to address environmental concerns. Firms that experience higher statutory tax rates may not prioritize environmental efforts, which are often non-essential to a firm's operations, despite government incentives. Alternatively, higher tax rates may encourage firms to address environmental concerns due to the tax shield that these expenses provide and the relatively lower cost to shareholders. Observing tax rate variation at the state level, I find higher state tax rates are associated with weaker environmental performance. My study contributes to regulators' understanding of the interaction between tax policy and firms' abilities to address their environmental impact.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralI investigate the impact of statutory state income tax rates on U.S. firms' environmental performance. Firms subject to higher tax rates experience more restricted cash flows. As such, higher tax rates may limit managers' ability to address environmental concerns. Alternatively, higher tax rates may encourage firms to address environmental concerns due to the tax write off that these expenses provide. Observing tax rate variation at the state level, I find higher state tax rates are associated with weaker environmental performance. My study contributes to regulators' understanding of the interaction between tax policy and firms' abilities to address their environmental impact.en
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophyen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:41189en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/120624en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectEnvironmental Performanceen
dc.subjectStatutory Corporate Income Tax Ratesen
dc.subjectEnvironmental Legislationen
dc.subjectCorporate Social Responsibilityen
dc.titleIs Corporate Taxation Bad for the Environment? An Empirical Analysis of the Association between State-Level Taxation and Corporate Environmental Performanceen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplineBusiness, Accounting and Information Systemsen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

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