<![CDATA[Tax avoidance remains an important issue in corporate taxation because differences between statutory tax rates and firms’ effective tax burdens may reflect variations in financial and governance characteristics. This study examines the effects of profitability and leverage on tax avoidance and evaluates the moderating role of independent commissioners in food and beverage companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2021–2025. A quantitative explanatory approach was employed using secondary data obtained from annual reports and financial statements. Purposive sampling resulted in 46 companies and 230 firm-year observations. Tax avoidance was measured using the Effective Tax Rate (ETR), profitability using Return on Assets (ROA), leverage using the Debt-to-Equity Ratio (DER), and independent commissioners using their proportion of the total board of commissioners. Panel data regression using the Fixed Effect Model was selected based on the Chow and Hausman tests, while Moderated Regression Analysis was applied to examine the interaction effects. The results show that profitability has a negative and significant effect on ETR, indicating that higher profitability is associated with greater tax avoidance. Leverage also has a negative and significant effect on ETR, consistent with the tax-shield mechanism associated with debt financing. Independent commissioners do not significantly moderate the effects of either profitability or leverage on tax avoidance. The findings indicate that financial characteristics have a more direct relationship with ETR-based tax avoidance than the quantitative proportion of independent commissioners. ]]>
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