zzzzMy research examines how taxes and tax policy shape corporate and individual decisions. It touches on a range of topics from the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and Multijurisdictional Income Shifting to the reporting of Virtual Currency (i.e. cryptocurrency) to tax authorities. I seek to offer timely and policy-relevant insights for regulators, lawmakers, and governments. I have presented my work to the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Treasury Office of Technical Assessment. the Office of Financial Research and staff at the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Publications
Fiscal Year-Ends and Financial Benefits: The Role of Prospective Measurement Dates in Tax Reform – Co-authored with Crist Gleason, and Jaron Wilde. Journal of the American Taxation Association .
- Abstract: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 dramatically reshaped the tax landscape for companies and reduced incentives for multinationals to leave foreign earnings abroad. We study a provision of the law that allowed some multinationals to take simple measures to reduce their tax burden more than other firms. The TCJA levied a tax on accumulated income held in foreign subsidiaries of U.S. firms. The implementation of this tax left firms an avenue to protect shareholder wealth, as foreign income retained as “cash” was taxed at a higher rate (15.5 percent) than foreign income retained in other asset classes (8 percent). Measurement rules allowed some firms significantly more time to shift foreign “cash” holdings to “non-cash” assets and lower their tax burden. Using staggered, firm-specific measurement dates, we find that fiscal year-end firms with more time to respond to the law reduced their “cash” levels more than other firms.
- Presented at University of Iowa
Other Publications
Reproducibility in Management Science – With Miloš Fišar, Christoph Huber, Elena Katok, Ali Ozkes, and the Management Science Reproducibility Collaboration (I am one of 700+ reviewers listed as a coauthor). Management Science. (Accepted at Management Science)
- Abstract: Over 700 reviewers evaluated the reproducibility of about 500 Management Science articles before and after its 2019 Data and Code Disclosure policy. Reproducibility was over 95% for articles compliant with the policy, where data and technical barriers did not impede reviewers. However, 29% of articles had partially inaccessible datasets, and overall reproducibility fell to 68%. Before the policy, only 12% of articles voluntarily shared replication materials, with a 55% reproducibility rate. Variability in reproducibility across fields was largely due to data access issues.
Working Papers
Treasure MAPs? How Governmental Cooperation Shapes Income Shifting – Job Market Paper. Presented at the University of Iowa
- Abstract: An increase in globalization in recent decades has placed a growing importance on international taxes and intergovernmental cooperation. I examine how income shifting relates to a specific tax treaty provision, Mutual Agreement Procedures, which allow governments to cooperate and come to mutually agreeable solutions when there are issues of double taxation. Double taxation is an issue that 75 percent of firms expect to be subject to as intergovernmental cooperation increases. I examine how firms act under this cooperation regime as it relates to a key firm choice for international transactions, income shifting. I find that income shifting is stronger for subsidiaries with more access to Mutual Agreement Procedures but provide initial evidence that recent changes to global tax cooperation may be reducing this association. My results are important to regulators and policymakers, such as the OECD, which continues to push for countries to implement more effective MAPs.
- Presented at the University of Iowa,Office of Financial Research, Texas A&M University, University of Illinois, University of Georgia, Binghamtom University, Texas Christian University
Who Sells Cryptocurrency? – Co-authored with Jeff Hoopes and Jaron Wilde. Review of Accounting Studies (preparing for 2nd round submission).
- Abstract: Cryptocurrency has become a major force in the financial system in the last decade. However, even as regulators and policymakers across the globe deliberate on how to account for, regulate, tax, and oversee digital assets and cryptocurrency marketplaces, there is little population-level empirical evidence on cryptocurrency users. Providing broad-based evidence on cryptocurrency sellers and activities is critical to policy deliberations because the nature of regulation is often predicated on who is involved in particular activities. Using administrative data, we provide information on the general characteristics of cryptocurrency users who report their sales to the government, focusing on those individuals who own cryptocurrency directly on the blockchain or through cryptocurrency exchanges. Among the insightful patterns we document are ages, incomes, professions, geographic residences, student and marital statuses, and reported income from gambling of cryptocurrency sellers. The average income of cryptocurrency sellers has declined over time, suggesting the base of sellers has expanded in recent years; the average cryptocurrency seller is just under 33 years old—much younger than the average non-crypto investor at 56—-and this gap has grown over time. Moreover, from 2013 to 2020, the population of individuals selling cryptocurrency evolved from small clusters of people largely working in related industries and residing in coastal states (e.g., California and New York) to an expansive population employed in a broad range of industries and spread out across the country. By documenting compelling patterns of increasingly broad-based use of cryptocurrencies, this study contributes timely evidence to the significant regulatory deliberations and towards an innate understanding of these relatively new financial products.
- The University of Iowa, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Technical Assessment (OTA), 2022 AAA Annual Meeting, DFW+ Virtual Tax Workshop, 2023 ATA Midyear Meeting, Office of Financial Research (OFR), 2023 IRS-TPC Research Conference, UCSB-ECON Defi Seminar
Non-Peer Reviewed Work
Common Sense Recommendations for the Application of Tax Law to Digital Assets – Co-authored with Matthew Foreman, Jillian Grennan, and Omri Marian (+28 other signatories). Comment Letter to Joint Committee on Taxation.
- Abstract: In response to the Joint Committee on Taxation’s July 2023 request for comments on the application of various Internal Revenue Code sections on digital assets, we propose a consistent set of rules to apply current law to digital assets. We highlight that the underlying economics and characteristics of transactions should be the primary concern for the application of rules and the valuation of digital assets. We believe any digital asset rules should (1) treat classes of digital assets with unique characteristics differently based on their economics, (2) minimize incentives for users to engage in tax-motivated structuring of transactions, and (3) allow the Internal Revenue Service authority to react to and regulate new classes of digital assets as they are created. We do not believe that the unique features of digital assets are a challenge to applying current law or warrant special tax preferred treatment.
- Presented to Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation