Our study represents the first attempt to investigate whether board of directors" attributes have an impact on corporate tax planning in a developing country. Using a sample of 32 companies listed on the Tunisian stock exchange market from 2000 to 2007, results indicate that duality and diversity on the board of directors significantly influences tax planning. Duality exhibits a negative relation with effective tax rates. However, diversity on the board shows a positive association. We don"t find relations between board size, independent directors and corporate tax planning. We contribute to the large literature on corporate tax planning by proposing that board"s characteristics may have a substantial effect on reducing effective tax rates. We add a new angle to existing studies on corporate tax governance by involving board"s diversity and sectorial effect. An implication of this study is that tax planning would be decreased by women"s presence on the board of directors. In addition, tax incentives granted by the state to some sectors may improve tax strategies.
This study examines the effect of demographic gender diversity on corporate tax planning. Using a sample of 300 firms (S&P 500) for the 1996-2009 periods, results indicate that gender diversity on the board is not significant and doesn't have an effect on tax planning. Board independence enhances tax practice. ROA is significant and associated with tax planning. Board size and firm size do not exhibit significant relations. We contribute to the literature of gender by proposing a new tax framework. We propose new evidence for the paradigm of tax governance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.