When you ask tax directors why they don’t do more tax planning, one common response is that they don’t want to damage the reputation of their company—they don’t want to end up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and make their company look bad. But, when was the last time you read a story of a corporation doing some tax planning, and, decided not to buy something as a result? If you are like most people—never. In a recent paper, coauthored with Scott Asay, Jake Thornock, and Jaron Wilde, we dig deep into the concept of tax boycotts. Many people remember when Starbucks in the UK was boycotted because of their taxes. But, how common is that, really? And, even with Starbucks specifically, was it actually meaningful?
The answer is, not that common, and, not that meaningful. We survey consumers, use actual data on consumer purchases after tax news events, and many other things, all in this new paper. Take a look—it’s a neat new paper.
