The Impact of Financial Information Comparability on Aggressive Tax Avoidance with Respect to the Information Environment

Abstract

The overall tax avoidance perspective suggests that managers who seek opportunities to avoid paying taxes are pursuing financial abuse by creating a lack of transparency in the financial reporting environment. It seems that many companies are involved in tax avoidance. For this reason, it is crucial to determine the factors influencing the rate of tax avoidance. In this study, it is assumed that, in weak information environments, there is much incentive to avoid paying taxes. Thus, in this research, the effect of financial information comparability on aggressive tax avoidance with respect to the information environment has been investigated. To this end, 88 companies were examined during the period from 2011 to 2016. The required financial information was extracted by referring to the financial statements using Rahavard Novin software; summarized, classified and calculated in Excel software; and finally, analyzed through EViews software. By using the combined data and taking advantage of the generalized least squares regression test, it was established that the impact of financial statement comparability on aggressive tax avoidance in companies with a weaker information environment was more significant at a 90% confidence level. On the other hand, in a situation where there is a weak information environment, the ability to compare financial statements plays a significant role in reducing tax avoidance. Thus, it can reduce companies’ involvement in avoiding daring taxes, especially in a weak information environment. Furthermore, no reliable evidence was found concerning the effectiveness of financial information comparability in aggressive tax avoidance at a 95% confidence level.