We show that firms' ability to avoid taxes is affected by the quality of their internal
information environment, with lower effective tax rates (ETRs) for firms that have high
internal information quality. The effect of internal information quality on tax avoidance is
stronger for firms in which information is likely to play a more important role. For
example, firms with greater coordination needs because of a dispersed geographical
presence benefit more from high internal information quality. Similarly, firms operating in
a more uncertain environment benefit more from the quality of their internal information
in helping them to reduce ETRs. In addition, we provide evidence that high internal
information quality allows firms to achieve lower ETRs without increasing the risk of their
tax strategies (as measured by ETR volatility). Overall, our study contributes to the
literature on tax avoidance by providing evidence that the internal information environment
of the firm is important for understanding its tax avoidance outcomes.