Abstract

With market competition has increased in recent years, CEO turnover has become more frequent. The tax avoidance activities can maximize after-tax profits. After the CEO turnover, the company’s strategy needs to be repositioned. Therefore, this paper analyzes the impact of corporate tax avoidance on CEO turnover. This paper selects Chinese A-share market from 2010 to 2018 as a sample and combines theoretical analysis and empirical research to explore the impact of corporate tax avoidance on CEO turnover, and further analyzes the relationship under different ownerships. We find that there is a negative relationship between tax rates and forced CEO turnover. Listed companies with lower tax rates will cause social concern, leading to public doubts and inspections by tax authorities, which will further damage the company’s reputation. CEO turnover is the quick and easy way to respond the public accusations. We also find that state-owned enterprises undertake more social responsibilities than non-state-owned enterprises. The main contributions of this paper are as follows: On the theoretical perspective, this paper conduct systematic research on corporate tax avoidance and CEO turnover and analyze the relationship under different ownerships. In terms of practice, this paper puts forward relevant policy recommendations for the long-term development for enterprises and social responsibilities.

Keywords: Corporate tax avoidance; CEO turnover; Corporate social responsibility; Agency problem