At this year’s WU Summerfest, two theses from our institute—both supervised by Prof. Harald Amberger—were awarded the WU Talenta Award 2024:

a) The Bachelor’s thesis by Valentin Horak sheds light on the relationship between nominal corporate tax rates and M&A transactions. The results suggest a significantly negative association, but only for cross-border M&A transactions (in contrast to domestic transactions). Understanding this heterogeneity in the investment effects of corporate taxes is relevant for policymakers when considering future tax reforms.

b) The Master’s thesis by Sophie Hafran examines the effects of the Austrian controlled foreign corporation (CFC) regulation in Section 10a Corporate Income Tax Code on cross-border profit shifting of Austrian companies. The results suggest no decrease in cross-border profit shifting. Jointly with Harald Amberger, Sophie Hafran already published the key results of her thesis in the ÖStZ journal (in German only).

Congratulations!