Over the past three decades, academic research has sought to understand how cash shortfalls impact a firm's ability to take all available value-increasing investment projects. We investigate whether firms facing greater financing constraints turn to tax strategies that generate lower cash effective tax rates (ETRs) to mitigate the adverse effect of these financing constraints. We use the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) as an exogenous shock to financing constraints for pension firms, but not for other firms. Using a difference-in-differences research design, we predict and find that pension firms experience a decrease in their cash ETRs by 1.8%–2.4% after the PPA 2006, relative to other firms. These cash tax savings mitigate the investment shortfall brought about by financing constraints by 19%. We also predict and find that the decline in cash ETRs is greater among firms more adversely affected by the PPA 2006. Our paper sheds light on the direction, causality, and economic magnitude of the association between financing constraints and tax planning activities. We also provide insight into the role of tax planning activities within firms' broader corporate business strategies in responding to financing constraints.

中文翻译：

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融资限制会导致税收筹划增加吗？来自 2006 年养老金保护法的证据*

在过去的三年中，学术研究一直试图了解现金短缺如何影响公司接受所有可用的增值投资项目的能力。我们调查面临更大融资约束的公司是否转向产生较低现金有效税率 (ETR) 的税收策略，以减轻这些融资约束的不利影响。我们使用 2006 年的养老金保护法案 (PPA 2006) 作为对养老金公司的融资约束的外生冲击，而不是其他公司。使用差异中的差异研究设计，我们预测并发现，与其他公司相比，2006 年 PPA 之后，养老金公司的现金 ETR 下降了 1.8%–2.4%。这些现金税收节省将融资约束带来的投资缺口减少了 19%。我们还预测并发现，在受 PPA 2006 不利影响的公司中，现金 ETR 的下降幅度更大。我们的论文阐明了融资约束与税收筹划活动之间关联的方向、因果关系和经济规模。我们还深入了解税务规划活动在企业应对融资约束的更广泛企业战略中的作用。