Accounting and Auditing Studies

Accounting and Auditing Studies

Testing The Level of Tax Avoidance During The Financial Crisis By The Method Meta-Heuristic Algorithm

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohsen Faniani 1
Mohammadreza Vatanparast 2
Keyhan Azadi 3
1 Ph.D. Candidate in Accounting, Faculty of Accounting University of Qazvin, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.
10.22034/iaas.2025.230965
Abstract
For the purposes to finance their business operations, firms have incentives to engage in corporate tax avoidance activities when managerial incentives increase as compared to managerial costs. These activities are significantly high when firms are in the financial distress zone.Companies that experience financial distress are forced to take risks to avoid tax in line with the need for higheravailability of cash, so they will ignore the negative image that might result as a consequence of tax avoidance.
Thus, the purpose of this research is to test the level of tax avoidance during the financial crisis by the method of meta-heuristic algorithms. For this purpose, the data of 86 companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange were analyzed using the particle aggregation optimization algorithm. The findings of the research show that the optimal level of tax avoidance of companies increases during the financial crisis.
Keywords
Tax Avoidance
Financial Crisis
Meta-Heuristic Algorithms
  1. آشتاب، علی؛ حقیقت، حمید؛ کردستانی، غلامرضا. (۱۳۹۶). مقایسه دقت مدل‌های پیش‌بینی بحران مالی و تأثیر آن بر ابزارهای مدیریت سود. بررسی‌های حسابداری و حسابرسی، ۲۴، ۱۴۷–۱۷۲.
  2. ابراهیمی، سید کاظم؛ بهرامی‌نسب، علی؛ ممشلی، رضا. (۱۳۹۶). تأثیر بحران مالی بر کیفیت گزارشگری مالی. دانش حسابداری، ۸(۳)، ۱۴۱–۱۶۵.
  3. اعتمادی، حسین؛ عبدلی، لیلا. (۱۳۹۴). هموارسازی سود و عملکرد قیمت سهام در بحران مالی. حسابداری مالی، ۷(۲۵)، ۱–۲۸.
  4. تاجمیر ریاحی، حامد؛ اسدی، زهرا. (۱۴۰۰). تأثیر آشفتگی مالی بر اجتناب از پرداخت مالیات در شرکت‌های پذیرفته‌شده در بورس اوراق بهادار تهران. پژوهش‌های راهبردی بودجه و مالی، ۲(۴)، ۷۳–۱۰۱.
  5. خیراللهی، فرشید؛ دلاوری، سیدجواد؛ یوسفی، امید. (۱۴۰۱). تأثیر بحران مالی جهانی بر درماندگی مالی، مدیریت سود و قیمت‌گذاری اقلام تعهدی. اقتصاد پولی و مالی، ۲۹، ۱۶۸–۱۹۳.
  6. ساری، محمدعلی؛ اعتمادی، حسین. (۱۳۹۸). بررسی تأثیر اجتناب مالیاتی بر ریسک مالیاتی شرکت‌ها. پژوهش‌های تجربی حسابداری، ۹(۳۳)، ۲۵۳–۲۷۵.
  7. صفری‌گرایلی، مهدی؛ پودینه، شیوا. (۱۳۹۵). اجتناب مالیاتی و به‌موقع بودن اعلان سود: آزمون تجربی از بورس اوراق بهادار تهران. پژوهش‌نامه مالیاتی، ۳۱، ۱۰۱–۱۱۸.
  8. متین‌فرد، مهران؛ چهارمحالی، علی‌اکبر. (۱۳۹۹). بررسی تأثیر عدم اطمینان اقتصادی بر اجتناب مالیاتی. دانش حسابداری و حسابرسی مدیریت، ۳۶، ۲۸۵–۲۹۶.
  9. موسوی شیری، سیدمحمود؛ سبزی، صغری؛ قدردان، احسان. (۱۴۰۲). بررسی رابطه بین استراتژی‌های تجاری شرکت و توانایی مدیریت در دوره بحران مالی با کیفیت سود. مطالعات حسابداری و حسابرسی، انجمن حسابداری ایران، ۱۲(۴۵)، ۵۷–۸۰.
  10. Alm, J., Liu, Y., & Zhang, K. (2019). Financial constraints and firm tax evasion. International Tax and Public Finance, 26(1), 71–102.
  11. Ariff, A., Adibah Wan, W., Kamarudin, K.-A., & Taufik Mohd Suffian, M. (2022). Financial distress and tax avoidance: The moderating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Journal of Accounting Research, 8(3), 279–292.
  12. Brondolo, J. (2009). Collecting taxes during an economic crisis: Challenges and policy options. IMF Staff Position Notes, 2009(017).
  13. Bulow, J. I., & Shoven, J. B. (1978). The bankruptcy decision. The Bell Journal of Economics, 9(2), 437–456.
  14. Charitou, A., Lambertides, N., & Trigeorgis, L. (2011). Distress risk, growth and earnings quality. Abacus, 47(2), 158–181.
  15. Chen, S., Chen, X., Cheng, Q., & Shevlin, T. (2010). Are family firms more tax aggressive than nonfamily firms? Journal of Financial Economics, 95(1), 41–61.
  16. Dang, V.-C., & Tran, X.-H. (2021). The impact of financial distress on tax avoidance: An empirical analysis of the Vietnamese listed companies. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1).
  17. Eberhart, A. C., & Senbet, L. W. (1993). Absolute priority rule violations and risk incentives for financially distressed firms. Financial Management, 22(3), 101–116.
  18. Edwards, A., Schwab, C., & Shevlin, T. (2016). Financial constraints and cash tax savings. The Accounting Review, 91(3), 859–881.
  19. Edwards, A., Schwab, C., & Shevlin, T. (2013). Financial constraints and the incentive for tax planning. In 2013 American Taxation Association Midyear Meeting: New Faculty/Doctoral Student Session.
  20. Hashemi Tilehnouei, M., Tootian Esfahani, S., & Soltanipanah, S. (2018). Investigating the effect of financial distress on tax avoidance during the global financial crisis in companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange. International Journal of Finance & Managerial Accounting, 3(9), 41–51.
  21. Healy, P., Serafeim, G., Srinivasan, S., & Yu, G. (2014). Market competition, earnings management, and persistence in accounting profitability around the world. Review of Accounting Studies, 19, 1281–1300.
  22. Heidari Gandoman, S. (2019). The impact of the financial crisis on tax avoidance around the global financial crisis in the companies accepted in Tehran Stock Exchange. Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3498639
  23. Hsu, F.-J., Chen, S.-H., & Hsieh, C.-C. (2023). Macroeconomic constraints, financial distress risk, and firm’s tax avoidance. Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4368348
  24. Huang, H., Sun, L., & Zhang, J. (2017). Environmental uncertainty and tax avoidance. In Advances in Taxation (Vol. 24, pp. 83–124).
  25. Lee, F. L. (2012). Incentives to inflate reported cash from operations using classification and timing. The Accounting Review, 87(1), 1–33.
  26. Mahto, V. R., & Khanin, D. (2015). Satisfaction with past financial performance, risk taking, and future performance expectations in the family business. Journal of Small Business Management, 53, 801–818.
  27. Richardson, G., Lanis, R., & Taylor, G. (2015a). Financial distress, outside directors and corporate tax aggressiveness spanning the global financial crisis: An empirical analysis. Journal of Banking and Finance, 52, 112–129.
  28. Richardson, G., Taylor, G., & Lanis, R. (2015b). The impact of financial distress on corporate tax avoidance spanning the global financial crisis: Evidence from Australia. Economic Modelling, 44, 44–53.
  29. Sadjiarto, A., Hartanto, S., Natalia, & Octaviana, S. (2020). Analysis of the effect of business strategy and financial distress on tax avoidance. Journal of Economics and Business, 3(1), 238–246.
  30. Scholtens, B., & Shevlin, T. J. (2005). Taxes and business strategy: A planning approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
  31. Tasnim Khan, M., & Nawaz, F. (2023). Analysis of the effect of financial distress on tax avoidance during the COVID-19 financial crisis: Evidence from Pakistan. Review of Applied Management and Social Sciences, 6(1), 45–62.

 

Accounting and Auditing Studies
Volume 14, Issue 54
Summer 2025
Pages 79-92