Navigating through cyberattacks: The role of tax aggressiveness

This research investigates the impact of cyberattacks on tax aggressiveness using a difference-in-differences analysis with a matched sample. We find that firms experiencing cyberattacks are more likely to have lower cash effective tax rates and greater discretionary book-tax differences. We further show that cyberattacks have a greater impact on corporate tax aggressiveness when firms are more exposed to financial distress. Additional analyses show tax aggressiveness increases less when firms are in states with enactments of notification laws and firms with ex ante higher cybersecurity investment. Our aggregate results suggest that firms take more tax risky positions in response to greater financial distress and information asymmetry, which are attributed to the consequences of cyberattacks.本研究采用匹配样本下的双重差分分析（difference-in-differences analysis），探究网络攻击对企业税收激进行为的影响。研究结果显示，遭受网络攻击的企业现金有效税率（cash effective tax rates）更低，且可操控性账面-税收差异（discretionary book-tax differences）更大。进一步分析表明，当企业面临更高程度的财务困境（financial distress）时，网络攻击对其税收激进行为的影响更为显著。额外补充分析发现，若企业所在州已颁布数据通知相关法律（notification laws），或是企业事前（ex ante）已开展更高水平的网络安全投资，其税收激进行为的增幅则相对更小。综合所有研究结果可知，网络攻击会加剧企业的财务困境与信息不对称（information asymmetry）问题，受此影响，企业会采取更多税务风险处理立场以应对冲击。