No. 76: The Big Short (Interest): Closing the Loopholes in the Dividend-Withholding Tax

Year: 2023
Type: Working Paper
Open Science:

Abstract

We study the effect of stricter enforcement of the dividend-withholding tax (DWT). We focus on a 2016 Danish enforcement reform and compare Denmark to its Nordic neighbors. Throughout Nordic stock markets, shares on loan spike sharply around dividend dates. These spikes are consistent with so-called cum-cum and cum-ex trading. Post reform, spikes in Denmark disappear, and annual DWT revenue increases by 130 percent. Enforcement does not harm the investment climate, as measured by Danish stock returns, investment rate, and dividend yield.

 

 

Participating Institutions

TRR 266‘s main locations are Paderborn University (Coordinating University), HU Berlin, and University of Mannheim. All three locations have been centers for accounting and tax research for many years. They are joined by researchers from LMU Munich, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Cologne and Leibniz University Hannover who share the same research agenda.

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