Our mission and research team | Eivlueslariohuasfaum

Our story and mission

For decades, mainstream finance treated tax variation as a footnote. We saw it differently. Founded by tax policy researchers and investment strategists, our platform was built on a simple observation: effective tax rates differ dramatically across firms, and those differences carry measurable implications for expected returns and capital structure. Where others saw noise, we saw signal. We began by publishing rigorous cross-sectional studies that traced how tax burden variation shaped corporate behavior and market pricing. Over time, those publications attracted a growing community of analysts, academics, and institutional researchers who wanted deeper, more structured access to the underlying data. That demand became the foundation of this platform. Today, we maintain an expanding dataset of firm-level tax metrics, updated with the latest regulatory filings and policy shifts. Our mission remains unchanged: to bring intellectual rigor to the study of tax-aware capital markets, and to make that rigor accessible to anyone willing to look past conventional assumptions. We do not sell predictions. We build tools for clearer thinking.

Explore research

2019: Research began
First cross-sectional tax burden studies published
Global: Dataset coverage
Firm-level tax metrics across multiple jurisdictions
Open: Methodology
Fully documented and independently verifiable

Tax burden variation is a persistent source of insight

Differences in effective tax rates are not random. They reflect industry structure, regulatory regimes, and strategic choices that persist over time. We treat these patterns as a lens for understanding corporate behavior and market pricing, not as a problem to be averaged away.

Rigorous, data-driven analysis builds better judgment

Opinion is cheap. We ground every insight in documented methodology, verifiable sources, and transparent assumptions. Our users do not have to trust us blindly. They can follow the logic and test it themselves.

Transparency in methodology creates lasting trust

We publish how we collect data, how we define variables, and where our models break down. No black boxes. No proprietary magic. Just clear reasoning that stands up to scrutiny.

Understanding tax dynamics improves capital structure decisions

Firms make real choices about leverage, location, and investment based on tax incentives. By mapping those incentives across sectors and time, we help analysts see the trade-offs that shape balance sheets.

Meet the people behind the research

Dr. Eleanor Vance-Hartley

Founding Research Director

Former public finance scholar with fifteen years studying corporate tax incidence and capital structure. Leads our methodological framework and peer-review partnerships.

Marcus O'Brien

Lead Data Scientist

Specializes in constructing firm-level panels from regulatory filings. Built the core ingestion pipeline that powers our cross-sectional dataset.

Dr. Aisha Patel-Ramirez

Senior Tax Policy Analyst

Trained in comparative tax law and international regulatory frameworks. Oversees jurisdiction coverage and ensures alignment with evolving policy landscapes.

Liam Donnelly

Quantitative Research Lead

Develops the statistical models linking tax variation to expected returns. Focuses on robustness checks and replication standards.

Sofia Andersson

Platform Architect

Designs the systems that translate complex research into accessible tools. Ensures data integrity, performance, and a clean user experience.

James Okonkwo

Senior Advisor, Institutional Partnerships

Bridges our research team with asset managers and policy institutions. Advises on practical applications and dataset customization.

Recognition and honors

2024

Excellence in Tax-Aware Research

Honored for advancing the understanding of how firm-level tax burden variation informs capital structure analysis and market expectations.

European Finance Association

Best Research Dataset

2023

Transparency in Methodology

2022

Innovation in Financial Research

2021

Outstanding Policy Contribution

2020

2019

First research publications

Our founding researchers published a series of cross-sectional studies examining how effective tax rate differences across firms correlated with capital structure choices. These papers challenged the prevailing assumption that tax variation was largely idiosyncratic noise, establishing the intellectual foundation for everything that followed.

[01/04]

2021

Platform launch and dataset expansion

We launched the first version of our platform, making firm-level tax metrics available to a broader audience of analysts and researchers. The initial dataset covered three major jurisdictions and grew rapidly through automated ingestion of regulatory filings and manual verification protocols.

[02/04]

2023

Institutional partnerships and methodology open-sourcing

We formalized partnerships with several academic institutions and independent research bodies, expanding our dataset to global coverage. Simultaneously, we open-sourced key methodological documents, inviting external scrutiny and replication of our core analytical frameworks.

[03/04]

2025

Current: Continuous dataset refinement

Today we operate a living dataset, updated with the latest regulatory disclosures and policy changes. Our team continues to publish original research while refining the tools that help users explore tax burden variation across firms, sectors, and time periods.

[04/04]

What guides our work

Four commitments that shape every dataset we build and every insight we publish

Intellectual rigor

We hold every claim to a high standard of evidence. Assumptions are stated, methods are documented, and conclusions are proportionate to the data.

Independence

Our research agenda is driven by questions, not by commercial pressure. We follow the data where it leads, even when the findings complicate simple narratives.

Practical applicability

Rigorous research should not live in a vacuum. We design our tools and publications so that working analysts can apply them to real decisions.

Continuous improvement

Tax policy evolves, markets shift, and methodologies advance. We revisit our frameworks regularly, updating assumptions and expanding coverage as the landscape changes.