Security Returns and Tax Aversion Bias: Behavioral Responses to Tax Labels

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Autoren

  • Kay Blaufus
  • Axel Möhlmann
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Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)56-69
Seitenumfang14
FachzeitschriftJournal of Behavioral Finance
Jahrgang15
Ausgabenummer1
Frühes Online-Datum6 März 2014
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 2014

Abstract

This article studies behavioral responses to taxes in financial markets. It is motivated by recent puzzling empirical evidence of taxable municipal bond yields significantly exceeding the level expected relative to tax exempt bonds. A behavioral explanation is a tax aversion bias, the phenomenon that people perceive an additional burden associated with tax payments. We conduct market experiments on the trading of differently taxed and labeled securities. The data show an initial overvaluation of tax payments that diminishes when subjects gain experience. The tax deduction of expenses is valued more than an equivalent tax exemption of earnings. We find that the persistence of the tax aversion bias critically depends on the quality of feedback. This suggests that tax aversion predominantly occurs in one-time, unfamiliar financial decisions and to a lesser extent in repetitive choices.

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Security Returns and Tax Aversion Bias: Behavioral Responses to Tax Labels. / Blaufus, Kay; Möhlmann, Axel.
in: Journal of Behavioral Finance, Jahrgang 15, Nr. 1, 2014, S. 56-69.

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Blaufus K, Möhlmann A. Security Returns and Tax Aversion Bias: Behavioral Responses to Tax Labels. Journal of Behavioral Finance. 2014;15(1):56-69. Epub 2014 Mär 6. doi: 10.1080/15427560.2014.877017
Blaufus, Kay ; Möhlmann, Axel. / Security Returns and Tax Aversion Bias : Behavioral Responses to Tax Labels. in: Journal of Behavioral Finance. 2014 ; Jahrgang 15, Nr. 1. S. 56-69.
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