中国高质量发展阶段最优环境保护税率研究

Study on the optimal environmental protection tax rate in the high-quality development stage in China

中国开始实施环境保护税法的时间位于从高速增长向高质量发展过渡的时期。环境保护税法规定了大气和水污染物的税率区间,因此实际执行的税率存在优化的空间。虽然征收环境保护税是为了达成环境目标,但是该项税收同样可以服务于经济和社会目标。本文拟对环境保护税这一市场化的环境政策价格工具进行优化,从这一崭新研究视角切入,探讨协调经济与环境关系的原则,以期为实现高质量发展提供理论依据。本文的研究方法基于一个包括企业、政府和消费者的世代交替模型,各经济主体进行分散化决策。企业在生产过程中排放污染,政府向企业征收环境保护税并且治理污染,消费者的内生寿命受到污染存量和人均产出的共同影响。根据市场均衡条件,本文得到描述物质资本和污染存量动态变化的非线性差分方程,在此基础上进行解析证明和数据模拟。研究得到以下三点结论:第一,同一个环境保护税率无法同时实现经济产出最大化和社会福利最大化的目标,这意味着在高质量发展阶段政府需要抛弃以经济增长为中心的政策思路,转而以社会福利最大化为目标确定最优的环境保护税率。政府提高环境保护税率,可以实现由经济产出最大化向社会福利最大化的转变。第二,相较于最大化经济产出的税率,最大化社会福利的环境保护税率在转移路径上会造成各主要变量较小的波动,并用一定的经济产出换取更多的物质资本、更优的环境质量、更长的人均寿命、以及更高的社会福利水平,因此支持了前述政府需要以社会福利最大化为目标确定最优环境保护税率的结论。第三,最大化社会福利的环境保护税率在基准模型中的数值为1.96,但污染物的异质性会影响最优税率的数值。污染物较低的自然扩散速度、较严重的健康损害程度、较高的治理技术水平都会提高最优的环境保护税率。本文提出三点政策建议:第一,通过征收环境保护税最大化社会福利水平。第二,通过提高环境保护税率体现发展理念的转变。第三,促进医疗卫生和污染治理技术进步。

China implemented the environmental protection tax law during the transition from fast economic growth to high-quality development.As the environmental protection tax law stipulates tax rate range for air and water pollutants,there still is space for the optimization of the environmental protection tax rate in the real world.Although collecting environmental tax is aimed at the environmental goal,the taxes still can meet economic and societal goals.The research idea focuses on the optimization of the environmental protection tax rate,which is a market-based environmental policy that utilizes price control.Starting with this novel perspective,this paper discusses the principle that coordinates the economy and the environment,and provides theoretical foundation for the realization of high-quality development.The research method is based on an overlapping generation model that consists of a representative firm,the government,and a representative consumer,each of whom makes decentralized decisions.When producing,the firm emits pollutants.The government levies the environmental protection taxes on the firm and abates pollution.The consumer’s endogenous longevity is jointly affected by pollution stock and output per capita.The market equilibrium conditions yield two nonlinear difference equations that describe the dynamics of physical capital and pollution stock.This paper then conducts analytical proof and numerical simulations.The following three results arise.First,an environmental protection tax rate cannot simultaneously maximize economic output and social welfare,which implies that on the stage of high-quality development,the government should abandon the policy centering economic growth,but embrace the optimal environmental protection tax rate that maximizes social welfare.The increase in the environmental protection tax rate enables the transition from the economic output maximization to the social welfare maximization.Second,relative to the tax rate that maximizes economic output,the environmental protection tax rate that maximizes social welfare causes slighter fluctuations of the primary variables along the transitional path.The environmental protection tax rate that maximizes social welfare also trades economic output for more physical capital,better environmental quality,increased longevity,and higher social welfare,thus lending support for the previous result that the government should determine the optimal environmental protection tax rate for the purpose of social welfare maximization.Third,the environmental protection tax rate that maximizes social welfare is 1.96 in the baseline model,but is subject to change due to the heterogeneity of the pollutant properties.If the natural dissipation rate of pollution is slower,the health damage caused by pollution is more severe,the pollution abatement technology is more efficient,then the optimal environmental protection tax rate increases.The policy recommendation is threefold.First,the government should collect the environmental protection taxes to maximize social welfare.Second,the government should raise the environmental protection tax rate to reflect the transition in development concept.Third,the government should promote the technological advances in healthcare and pollution abatement.