Answer:
Both A and B are true.
- A. All else held constant, if a company has a beta of 1.2, then the cost of equity for this company will increase if the risk-free rate decreases.
- B. If you assume a company has debt, then an increase in the tax rate will decrease the weighted average cost of capital for the company.
Step-by-step explanation:
A)
The formula to calculate the cost of equity is:
cost of equity = risk free rate of return + [Beta × (market rate of return – risk free rate of return)]
e.g. market rate 15%, risk free rate 5%:
cost of equity = 5% + [1.2 x (15% - 5%)] = 5% + 12% = 17%
if the risk free rate decreases to 3%:
cost of equity = 3% + [1.2 x (15% - 3%)] = 3% + 14.4% = 17.4%
B)
the WACC formula = (cost of equity x weight of equity) + [cost of debt x weight of debt x (1- tax rate)]
if the tax rate increases, then the WACC will decrease because (1 - tax rate) will be lower.