Do Strong Fences Make Strong Neighbors?

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(w/ D. Dharmapala) National Tax Journal, 63 (December 2010), 723-740.

Many features of U.S. tax policy towards multinational firms — including the governing principle of capital export neutrality, the byzantine system of expense allocation, and anti inversion legislation — reflect the intuition that building “strong fences” around the United States advances American interests. This paper examines the interaction of a strong fences policy with the increasingly important global markets for corporate residence, corporate control and corporate equities. These markets provide opportunities for entrepreneurs, managers, and investors to circumvent a strong fences policy. The paper provides simple descriptive evidence of the growing importance of these markets and considers the implications for U.S. tax policy. 

mihir-desai-headshot

Mihir Desai's academic publications have appeared in leading economics, finance, and law journals. His work has emphasized the appropriate design of tax policy in a globalized setting, the links between corporate governance and taxation, and the internal capital markets of multinational firms. His research has been cited in The Economist, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, and several other publications.