Asset Pricing in the Presence of Taxes: An Empirical Investigation Using the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross Term Structure Model Under Differential Tax Regimes

Relatively little is known about the relationship between taxes and asset prices. Differential tax treatment of assets in the same risk class implies differential pricing. Conversely, the ability of tax-exempt investors to engage in tax arbitrage should drive any pricing differences away. The differential tax treatment of classes of US Treasury securities provides a straightforward setting for the examination of possible tax-effects in asset prices. Using the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross Term Structure Model as our framework, we examine the pricing of US Treasury securities over two distinct tax regimes. Evidence that tax effects are not arbitraged away is presented.