A closer examination of the book-tax difference pricing anomaly

In this study, I examine whether the pricing of book-tax differences reflects mispricing or a priced risk factor. I provide new evidence that temporary book-tax differences are mispriced by developing portfolios that trade on the information in book-tax differences for future accruals and cash flows. I develop and test predictions on whether book-tax difference mispricing is the value-glamour anomaly in disguise. Both signals of mispricing relate to firm growth and, thus, both may capture mispricing due to over-extrapolation of realized growth to future growth. I find that the book-tax difference pricing anomaly is subsumed by the value-glamour anomaly. Specifically, trading on the information in book-tax differences does not yield incremental returns relative to a value-glamour trading strategy. Hence, mispricing associated with book-tax differences relates more generally to the mispricing of expected growth as extrapolated from past growth.