The persistence of book-tax differences

In summary, the results indicate that the degree of persistence is dependent on the nature of the BTD and that this variation in persistence itself varies by industry group. The most persistence component relates to differences between UK and overseas statutory tax rates with temporary differences being the least persistent, indicative of a non-earnings management motivation. Within industry groupings there is wide variation in the level of persistence. While 59.4% of the sample companies experienced only one change of sign BTD at most in the six year period, the balance of the sample had at least two changes.