The nationalization of companies is a hot topic, especially in economically challenging times. In her current work, our August Researcher of the Month, Eva Eberhartinger, is looking at the potential effects of nationalization on corporate tax planning activities.

Eva Eberhartinger is a professor at WU’s Institute for Accounting & Auditing, head of the Business Taxation Group, and co-chair of the Doctoral Program in International Business Taxation (DIBT).

A native of Upper Austria, she studied business administration at the Johannes Kepler University Linz before earning both her doctorate and her venia docendi at WU, where she was awarded a number of prizes and scholarships for both. Prior to her position at WU, she was a full professor of business taxation at the University of Münster (Germany). She has gained international experience at the University of Exeter (UK), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champain (US), HEC Paris (France), McGill University (Canada), HEC Montréal (Canada), the University of Malta, and Macquarie University, Sydney (Australia).

In her research, she focuses on the effect of taxes on company decisions, in particular in multinational groups. Current projects include the effect of heuristics on the decision-making process in international tax planning, the relevance of income tax disclosure in financial statements, and the effects of cooperative compliance programs and tax audits on companies.

She acted as Vice-Rector for Financial Affairs at WU from 2006 until 2011. In addition to her academic career, Eva Eberhartinger also holds a number of positions on supervisory boards and is a full member of the Austrian Financial Reporting and Auditing Committee (AFRAC).

In her research video, Eva Eberhartinger explains when and why government-owned companies practice tax avoidance and how it can be prevented.