The effects of the stock transaction tax on the stock market - Experiences from Asian markets

Abstract

This paper examines the economic effect of the stock transaction tax, using 14 tax changes that occurred in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan during the period 1975-1994. On average, an increase in tax rate reduces the stock price but has no significant effect on market volatility and market turnover. To separate noise trading from other components, I also examine the changes in idiosyncratic volatility and idiosyncratic turnover for size portfolios. For the small firm portfolio, the idiosyncratic volatility is significantly lower during the high-tax period, but not turnover. Overall, the evidence is not consistent with the hypothesis that stock transaction tax can reduce noise trading and volatility. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.