ABSTRACTWe provide large sample evidence of law firms facilitating U.S. publicly traded companies' tax planning, investigate when evidence of law firm involvement is strongest, and examine some tax planning mechanisms law firms facilitate. Because companies' tax planning relationships with law firms are not publicly observable, we use litigation filings and SEC comment letters to identify companies' observable law firm relationships. We find a positive association between companies' tax planning and the average tax planning of other companies that have a relationship with the same law firm. This association is stronger for companies that are smaller, younger, R&D-intensive, financially constrained, and facing less capital market pressure, but does not vary with auditor-provided tax services. We also find evidence consistent with law firms facilitating the use of tax havens, Double Irish structures, and special purpose entities. Our findings deepen our understanding of companies' tax planning ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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律师事务所作为税务规划服务提供商


摘要我们提供律师事务所促进美国上市公司税务规划的大量样本证据，调查律师事务所参与的证据何时最强，并研究律师事务所促进的一些税务规划机制。由于公司与律师事务所的税务筹划关系无法公开观察，因此我们使用诉讼备案和 SEC 评论信来识别公司可观察的律师事务所关系。我们发现，公司的税务规划与与同一律师事务所有关系的其他公司的平均税务规划之间存在正相关关系。对于规模较小、较年轻、研发密集型、财务受限且面临资本市场压力较小的公司来说，这种关联性更强，但不会因审计师提供的税务服务而异。我们还发现了与律师事务所促进避税天堂、双重爱尔兰结构和特殊目的实体的使用相一致的证据。我们的研究结果加深了我们对公司税务规划生态系统的理解。