Foreign Cash: Taxes, Internal Capital Markets, and Agency Problems

A-Tier
Journal: The Review of Financial Studies
Year: 2017
Volume: 30
Issue: 5
Pages: 1490-1538

Authors (3)

Jarrad Harford (University of Washington) Cong Wang (not in RePEc) Kuo Zhang (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

When the fraction of a firm’s cash held overseas is greater, its shareholders value that cash lower. This goes beyond a pure tax effect: the repatriation tax friction disrupts the firm’s internal capital market, distorting its investment policy. Firms underinvest domestically and overinvest abroad. Our findings are more pronounced when firms are subject to higher repatriation tax rates, higher costs of borrowing, and more agency problems. Overall, our evidence suggests that a combination of taxes, financing frictions, and agency problems leads to a valuation discount for foreign cash and documents real effects of how foreign earnings are taxed.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:rfinst:v:30:y:2017:i:5:p:1490-1538.
Journal Field
Finance
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25