Does executive compensation reflect equity risk incentives and corporate tax avoidance? A Japanese perspective

Abstract

This study examines corporate tax avoidance as a determinant of executive compensation on the basis of equity risk incentives. Previous research shows that equity risk incentives motivate managers to make more risky, but positive net present value—investment decisions. Through correlation analyses, this study demonstrates that the tax risk measures adopted in this study are negatively associated with both the adoption of stock options and tax aggressive measures. Through multivariate analyses, this study demonstrates that executive compensations are significantly associated with our measures of tax risk positions despite the inclusion of several control variables. Moreover, this study finds consistent evidence that executive equity risk incentives are significantly associated with aggressive tax positions, regardless of the estimation method and the strength of the corporate governance function, and across several tax risk measures.