Dividend capture and the Tax Reform Act of 1986

Abstract

This dissertation develops direct tests for the presence of dividend capture trading in NYSE stocks. The empirical method also separates stocks with dividend capture trading from those whose ex-day returns are set by the tax rates of long term investors. Inferences can therefore be made about these tax rates. This dissertation also uses the changes effected by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to test whether short term investors are in fact setting the ex-dividend day return in some NYSE stocks. It further seeks to test whether long term marginal investors are individuals or corporations, and whether short term traders are corporations or dealers. This dissertation differs from other attempts in its emphasis on stratifying stocks by transaction costs. Without this stratification, any tests on average movements in ex-dividend day returns caused by tax changes will fail to differentiate tax penalty effects from dividend capture effects.