Suppose that the tax rate on personal income, tp, is equal to 40%; the corporate tax rate, tc, is equal to 35%; and the capital gains tax rate, tcg, is 20%. Also assume that the before-tax rate of return on investment to both the corporate and partnership form is 15% per year. These tax rates and investment returns are constant over time. On the basis of these facts, identify the following as true or false. (Support your answers with numerical examples.)
a. The annualized after-tax rate of return to investing in the corporate form increases with the length of the investor’s holding period. Explain.
b. The annualized after-tax rate of return to investing in the partnership form increases with the length of the partner’s holding period. Explain.
c. If a corporation paid out its entire after-tax profits as fully taxable dividends each year, shareholders would realize a lower before-tax rate of return than if the corporation retained the after-tax profits. Explain.
d. Because the corporate tax rate is below the personal tax rate, the corporate form is always preferred to the partnership form.
e. Because corporate income is subject to two levels of taxation, the partnership form is always preferred to the corporate form.