Differences in Tax Avoidance According to Corporate Sustainability with a Focus on Delisted Firms

This study analyzed whether the level of tax avoidance of delisted firms differs from that of non-delisted firms. A decrease in the corporate sustainability of listed firms eventually leads to delisting. If the financial risk of firms increases, the incentive to avoid taxes will also increase. In this case, an extremely aggressive tax strategy might negatively impact sustainability and prove to be non-continuous. This induces the possibility of delisting. Accordingly, this study analyzed whether delisted firms perform more tax avoidance than non-delisted companies from the perspective of corporate sustainability. The results of this study are as follows. The results of analyzing whether the cash effective tax rate and effective tax rate, which are proxies of tax avoidance, are different reveal that the cash effective tax rate and effective tax rate of the delisted companies are significantly low. This suggests that delisted companies are receiving more incentives to avoid taxes. Additionally, this study also analyzed whether there is a difference in tax risk between delisted and non-delisted companies. The results reveal that the delisted companies have a significantly higher tax risk. This study contributes to the literature on the tax strategy of delisted companies. It also contributes to enhancing the understanding of corporate sustainability.