ABSTRACT
Purpose: This paper examines whether financial distress is associated with tax avoidance and whether the COVID-19 pandemic moderates such association. Design/methodology/approach: The sample covers 38,958 firm-year observations from 32 countries during the period 2015–2020. Financial distress is measured using the ZSCORE by Altman (1968), while tax avoidance is based on the book-tax difference. Findings: Financially distressed firms exhibit low tax avoidance pre- and during the pandemic periods. The authors find higher tax avoidance during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period, but the pandemic enhances the negative relationship between financial distress and tax avoidance. Research limitations/implications: The study offers evidence on how financial distress drives firms to engage in more tax avoidance when firms globally encountered various levels of financial difficulty sparked by the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implications: The findings provide insights to policymakers on the need to monitor and incentivise financially distressed firms, especially during economic challenges due to pandemic. Originality/value: This study adds to the limited, albeit important, evidence on the joint effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and financial distress on tax avoidance. © 2023, Akmalia Ariff, Wan Adibah Wan Ismail, Khairul Anuar Kamarudin and Mohd Taufik Mohd Suffian.
ABSTRACT
Digitalization in Malaysia shapes the nature of entrepreneurial opportunities and the effectiveness of governmental policies, practices, and funding to improve those opportunities. The positive impact of the digital age, in terms of job creation and economic expansion, has prompted a set of cyber-development initiatives during the Coved-19 pandemic to alleviate poverty;first to boost the productivity potential of digital entrepreneurs, and second to forward progress towards Cyberpreneurship, especially during lockdown protocols, which is in line with promoted Working from Home (WFH) efforts. This study explores the potential factors of the initiatives needed for Covid-19 pandemic situational poverty eradication. Next, to analyses how these factors relate to a single mothers’ participation in Cyberpreneurship. This study highlights several entrepreneurial and policy ideas to decrease poverty among single-mother entrepreneurs. The study relies on in-depth qualitative research that includes a systematic literature review and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). A total of n = 12 interviews were conducted with seven single, micro-entrepreneurs, mothers, two Officers of The Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development (KPWKM) Department, and three local Community Welfare Officers. The findings of this research indicate that competency among single mothers has a significant influence on poverty alleviation. The correlation between the constructs has shown that most participant members actively contribute to the human, economic, cultural, and social capitals. This research is critical for understanding the circumstances that facilitate digital entrepreneurship which guides public policies to support single, low-income, women and suggests potential improvements to their socioeconomic conditions by using cyber technology as an entrepreneurship option, particularly during this ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.