兩稅合一制前後上市公司股利發放之實證研究

An Empirical Investigation of Impacts of the Imputation Tax System on Corporate Dividend Payouts

汪瑞芝(Jui-Chih Wang) ； 陳明進(Ming-Chin Chen)

《管理學報》 21卷2期 (2004/04) Pp. 257-277

https://doi.org/10.6504/JOM.2004.21.02.06

摘要

本文以民國84年至89年兩稅合一前後上市公司樣本實證研究兩稅合一制實施對公司股利發放的影響，以探討我國兩稅合一制的實施是否能有效導正過去獨立課稅制下租稅對股利發放的扭曲。研究結果顯示，兩稅合一制實施後，現金股利發放率較實施前增加，但原因可能是受到健全股利政策推行的影響。而盈餘配股發放率則較實施前減少，可能是受到股票股利緩課取消的影響。在控制其他解釋變數後，迴歸模式的實證結果顯示，兩稅合一制實施後，上市公司稅額扣抵比率與總(盈餘)股利發放率呈正相關，且上市公司稅額扣抵比率愈高者，其總（盈餘）股利發放率、現金股利發放率及盈餘配股發放率皆較兩稅合一制實施前高。這些實證結果顯示，兩稅合一制實施後，稅額扣抵比率確實具有提高公司股利發放的效益，可減少稅負對公司股利發放決策之扭曲。

關鍵字

兩稅合一 ； 稅額扣抵比率 ； 現金股利 ； 股票股利

並列摘要

This study examines the impact of the imputation tax system on corporate dividend payouts by using 1995-2000 financial statement data of listed companies. Before 1998, corporate dividends in Taiwan were subject to double taxation, one is profit-seeking enterprise income tax when companies have earnings, the other is individual income tax when corporate earnings are distributed to shareholders. The double taxation on dividends was notoriously criticized for it distorted corporate dividend policy and increased tax burdens on investment.
In 1998, in order to ease the double taxation on dividends, Taiwan implemented the imputation tax system, allowing income taxes paid by corporations to offsets their shareholders’ individual income taxes on dividends. We predict that under the imputation tax system, companies will increase dividend payouts and the increased dividend payouts are positively related with corporate imputation tax credit ratios on dividends, ceteris paribus.
Our analyses indicate that cash dividend payout ratios increase significantly after implementation of the imputation tax system. However, the increases in cash dividends are likely, in part, influenced by the promotion of a balanced dividend policy by the SEC. Conversely, stock dividend payout ratios decrease significantly after implementation of the imputation tax system, possibly due to the cancellation of tax deferral on corporate stock dividends. The empirical results show that ceteris paribus, imputation tax credit ratios are positively related with total dividends payout ratios. Further, companies with higher imputation tax credit ratios tend to increase their total dividend payouts, both cash dividends and stock dividends, after initiation of the imputation tax system. The findings of this study suggest that the imputation tax credit provides an incentive for companies to increase their dividend payouts and thus may relieve the tax-induced distortion in corporate dividend policy under the traditional income tax system.

並列關鍵字

Imputation tax system ； Imputation tax credit ratios ； Cash dividend ； Stock dividend

參考文獻

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