Do Tax Rates Affect Corporate Social Responsibility? A Natural Experiment From Corporate Tax Rate Changes

Yiwei Fang, Iftekhar Hasan, You Lu, Business School, Soochow University, Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University, New York, Bank of Finland, University of Sydney, School of Accounting and Finance, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Research Centre for ESG Advancement, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance

Published online on April 13, 2026

Abstract

Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, Ahead of Print.
This study examines how changes in state corporate tax rates affect corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance among U.S. firms. Using staggered state-level tax reforms and a difference-in-differences (DiD) design, we identify an asymmetric causal ...