亏损后转年限延长能否提升高新技术企业投资效率?

Can a longer loss carryforward period improve the investment efficiency of high-tech enterprises?

亏损后转作为调和税制在收益和损失方面非对称性处理的税收机制,是发挥税收宏观调控作用的重要政策工具。自2018年起,高新技术企业的亏损后转年限从5年延长至10年,亏损抵税时间限制明显放宽。以2013—2022年沪深A股上市企业数据为样本,检验亏损后转年限延长对高新技术企业投资效率的影响及其作用机制。结果表明:(1)亏损后转年限延长对高新技术企业投资效率具有显著的提升作用;(2)亏损后转年限延长提高投资效率仅在投资机会充足、战略差异度大和成长期企业中显著,证实亏损后转年限延长政策具有资源配置功效,并且说明良好的发展潜力和高风险特性是亏损后转年限延长刺激高新技术企业投资效率提升的两个重要因素;(3)亏损后转年限延长对高新技术企业投资效率的提升作用主要体现在增加企业风险承担方面,说明企业风险承担是亏损后转年限延长影响投资效率的重要渠道机制。系统检验了亏损后转年限延长政策在促进高新技术企业投资效率方面的政策效果,为政府税收政策作为市场化手段的资源配置作用提供了证据支持,对税收政策的完善具有参考价值。

Loss carryforward is a crucial instrument for tax macro-regulation since it functions as a tax mechanism to balance the tax system’s asymmetric treatment of gains and losses.Since 2018,the time restriction for loss offsetting tax has been greatly loosened,and the loss carryforward term for high-tech enterprises has been increased from 5 to 10 years.This study uses the data of listed A-share firms in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2013 to 2022 as a sample to investigate the effects of the prolonged loss carryforward years on high-tech enterprises’investment efficiency and its mechanism of action.According to the findings,the extension of loss carryforward years has a significant effect on the investment efficiency of high-tech enterprises.Further research results indicate that the extension of the loss carryforward period to improve investment efficiency is only significant in enterprises with sufficient investment opportunities,large strategic differences and growth period,which confirms that the policy of extending the loss carryforward period has the efficacy of resource allocation,and indicates that good development potential and high risk characteristics are two important factors for the extension of the loss carryforward period to stimulate the improvement of the investment efficiency of hi-tech enterprises.In addition,this paper also finds that enterprise risk-taking is an important channel mechanism through which loss carryforward extension affects investment efficiency.This paper systematically examines the policy effect of loss carryforward year extension policy in promoting the investment efficiency of high-tech enterprises,provides evidence support for the resource allocation role of government tax policy as a market-oriented means,and has reference value for the improvement of tax policy.