未预期的政策受益:减税激励与企业污染治理

Unexpected Benefits from Policy:Tax Cuts and Environmental Pollution Governance

基于西部大开发减税的实践,采用三重差分模型识别了减税对企业污染治理的影响。研究发现,减税使西部符合条件企业的化学需氧量排放和工业废水排放量下降,从而证实减税具备显著的环境治理效应。机制分析显示,减税通过激励企业更新固定资产、增加研发投入等方式推动生产过程清洁化进而降低了污染物产生。异质性分析则发现,减税激励在环境合规成本较大的企业中更明显;相比清洁行业,减税对重污染行业的激励更显著;进一步的估算还发现,减税产生的环境收益可以在一定程度上弥补政策施行导致的税收损失。本文的研究表明,减税不仅能够提振市场活力,还能够提升经济转型发展的质量,这为更好地统筹环境保护和区域发展提供了有益启示。

Using the income tax incentives included in the Western Development Strategy,this paper examines the impact of tax cuts on firms'environmental performance using the triple difference estimation model.We find that tax cuts resulted in reduction in chemical oxygen demand emissions and industrial wastewater emissions for eligible firms in the western region.The mechanism shows that the tax policy reduces emissions by encouraging firms to upgrade their fixed assets and increase R&D investment,resulting in a cleaner production process.Heterogeneity analysis shows that the environmental effects of tax cuts are more pronounced in firms with higher environmental compliance costs.Furthermore,we find that the environmental benefits of tax cuts can effectively compensate for the tax losses.The research presented in this paper demonstrates that large-scale tax cuts can not only boost economic growth but also improve the quality of economic development,providing useful insights for the integrated promotion of environmental protection and economic development.