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We examine the impact of corporate taxation on entrepreneurship, using a quasi-natural experiment, which substantially reduced the corporate tax rate for start-ups located in inland municipalities in Portugal. Using a difference-in-differences approach and IV regression, we find that the tax reform increased firm entry and new firm job creation. The entrepreneurs who took advantage of this tax reform are relatively older, and are better-educated individuals. Their start-ups are relatively larger, more productive, and are more likely to survive the first 3 years. These findings suggest that corporate taxation is an imperative constraint for entrepreneurship, particularly for high-quality entrepreneurs. These better-educated individuals find it easier to overcome the hurdles of tax legislation and to make use of the opportunities created by a specific tax reform.

Sustainability has become a significant issue for firms and investors throughout the world, although it cannot be attained if policies impact the stability of firms’ dividend policies. In this paper, we use data from the Stoxx Euro 600 firms from 2000 to 2019 and the ESG (environmental, social and governance) scores from Thomson Reuters to assess the relationship between ESG responsibility performances and the firm’s dividend policy. The results indicate that more sustainable firms exhibit a more stable dividend payout. This result is also valid when the ESG pillars are analysed, specifically, the environmental and governance pillars. The findings further suggest that higher ESG scores reveal better long-term alignment with shareholders and other stakeholders due to more proportionally stable profit sharing.