Determinant of Tax Avoidance: Leverage, Managerial Ownership, Institutional Ownership, and Thin Capitalization

Abstract

This research examines the influence of leverage, managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and thin capitalization on tax avoidance in non-cyclical consumer companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during 2020–2023. Tax avoidance is measured by the Current Effective Tax Rate (CETR). Using an explanatory quantitative approach, purposive sampling was applied to firms consistently reporting positive profits with complete financial statements. Data were obtained from audited annual reports and analyzed through multiple linear regression in SPSS 20, supported by descriptive statistics and classical assumption tests. The results show that leverage has a negative and significant effect on tax avoidance, while the debt-to-asset ratio or thin capitalization has a positive and significant effect. In contrast, managerial ownership and institutional ownership do not significantly affect tax avoidance. These findings highlight the importance of capital structure in shaping corporate tax strategies, offering insights for governance and regulatory oversight.