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This cumulative dissertation extends the literature strand on firm valuation and capital structure under distinctive fiscal considerations by elaborating on corporate finance issues that have not been resolved or not explained in their full magnitude. Essay one reassesses the appropriate valuation of a firm using the APV equation and more appropriately specifying one of its components, the value of tax savings. The second essay thematically follows essay one by utilizing the WACC approach in a multi-state setting under active debt policy. The third and final essay reconsiders capital structure under the artificial restriction of interest deductibility and its resulting influence on the value of potential tax savings. All essays incorporate loss distribution in default for either a partial or a complete loss scenario, thus providing additional insides on this crucial assumption in firm valuation under risky debt.
Standard models on firm valuation, incorporating risky debt, assume a certain tax treatment of a cancellation of indebtedness (COD). Most valuation procedures solely discuss two polar cases: either the COD is strictly taxed on its entirety or not taxed at all. Considering the predominant national tax jurisdictions in G7 and many other countries, this assumption is far from being realistic. We model a state dependent taxation of a COD considering the firm's state in default and further contingencies, including a partial taxation. We show how to include this stochastic interdependency into the pricing of the value of the tax shield and the WACC. Compared to the case of full taxation of a COD this potentially increases the value of tax savings and decreases the discount rate, since less taxes are paid in states with exceptions of a tax on a COD, vice versa for the case of no taxation on a COD. Furthermore, in case of an exemption from taxation of a COD, pricing equations depend on the distribution of total losses on interest and principal payments.