Analysis the Effect of Inefficiency in Labor Investment on Tax Avoidance in a Selection of Export Companies in Tehran Stock Exchange

Tax avoidance reduces the outflow of cash from the company to the government, which from the past to the present is considered a value for shareholders. Therefore, considering such a necessity, the present study, in order to help tax administrators, examines the effects of investment inefficiency in the labor force on corporate tax avoidance activities for a sample of 64 export companies in Iran during the period of 2009 to 2019. For this purpose, in two stages, Dynamic Panel Data method and Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimator were used; in this way, first, the inefficiency of investment in labor was estimated and then its effect on corporate tax avoidance was estimated. The results of estimating the research model indicate the direct effect of investment inefficiency in the workforce on corporate tax avoidance. In addition, the results showed that the market value and size of the company are associated with a direct and inverse effect on tax avoidance, respectively. Thus, increasing ambiguity, a weaker control environment, and a reduction in expected cash flows due to inefficient investment in the workforce provide opportunities for the company's manager to increase tax avoidance, and tax policymakers need to pay special attention to this issue.