Investment Allocation with Capital Constraints. Comparison of Fiscal Regimes

The dramatic fall in oil prices after 2014 has led to more extensive capital rationing in international oil companies, and subsequent fierce competition between resource extraction countries to attract scarce investment. This situation is not adequately addressed by the large general literature on international taxation and multinational companies, since it fails to take account of capital rationing in its assumption that companies sanction all projects with a positive net present after-tax value. The paper examines the effect of tax design on international capital allocation when companies ration capital. We analyse capital allocation and government take for four equal oil projects in three different fiscal regimes: the U.S. GoM, UK upstream and Norway offshore. Implications for optimal tax design are discussed.