Does corporate income tax avoidance require risk-taking?

In a recent study published in The Accounting Review, Assistant Professor Kaishu Wu, School of Accounting and Finance and his colleagues David Guenther and Ryan Wilson (both at the University of Oregon) examine whether high levels of corporate income tax avoidance are achieved with additional risk-taking. In other words, do firms first exhaust relatively “safe” tax planning strategies before turning to “risky” strategies, as they pursue more tax savings?