【文章摘要】Analyzing the launch of high-speed rail (HSR) services in China as a natural experiment, we identify a positive externality stemming from lower information acquisition costs: the reduction in firms' overinvestment in tax avoidance. Specifically, we find that outsiders undertake more corporate site visits and firms engage in less tax avoidance after the opening of HSR lines in the cities where these firms are located, leading to enhanced firm value. In another result consistent with expectations, we document that the impact of the introduction of HSR lines on tax avoidance is concentrated in firms in which insiders exhibit a high propensity to extract rents through aggressive tax strategies. Our results imply that more efficient transportation facilitates site visits and the acquisition of firm-specific information, particularly soft information. This improvement strengthens external monitoring, thereby limiting the ability of insiders to accumulate private benefits under the guise of tax avoidance that benefits all shareholders as the residual claimants.

【关键词】agency problems; geographic proximity; high-speed rail; information acquisition; rent extraction; tax avoidance

【文章作者】Lyu Fan, Caiyue Ouyang, Jeffrey Pittman, Jiacai Xiong, Jun Yao

【作者单位】中国农业大学经济管理学院、北京交通大学经济管理学院、纽芬兰纪念大学Faculty of Business Administration、江西财经大学、迪肯大学Department of Accounting

【发表期刊】Journal of Business Finance and Accounting. 2024;1–40

【基金资助】National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 72162019, 72102010), Social Science Fund of Jiangxi Province (grant number 21YJ30)

【全文下载】Business Fin   Account - 2024 - Fan - Information acquisition and tax avoidance  Evidence from a natural experiment.pdf