Impact of different property rights.

As an important source of local fiscal revenue, will enterprise tax be affected by local government debt? What role do the government’s tax collection and management motives and behaviors play in this effect? By investigating the impact of local government debt on the actual tax burden of enterprises, this study shows that local governments have a trade-off of tax collection in the process of resolving the debt repayment pressure. The study finds that, in general, the expansion of local government debt has increased the actual tax burden of enterprises, which is mainly reflected in non-state-owned enterprises and enterprises that are collected and managed by the local tax department. The results of the mechanism test show that local debt pressure will encourage local governments to adjust the intensity of tax collection and tax incentives, and then increase the level of tax burden of enterprises in the jurisdiction. Furthermore, the heterogeneity test that distinguishes the institutional environment shows that there are significant differences in the taxation behavior of local governments and the impact of the corporate tax burden in different regions. Specifically, the strict tax behavior of local governments is more significant in regions with better institutional environment, while regions with worse institutional environment, due to the lack of market competitiveness, are more inclined to provide a relaxed tax collection environment to enterprises in their jurisdiction, so as to stabilize the tax base and resolve debts through long-term tax growth. In the context of unbalanced regional development, this study provides empirical evidence that the expansion of local debt affects the taxation behavior of local governments, and then affects the actual tax burden of enterprises in the jurisdiction, which is helpful to understand the government behavior during the transition period of developing countries, and provides policy implications for improving the public debt management system, creating a fair tax environment, and promoting high-quality economic growth.

企业税收作为地方财政收入的重要来源，是否会受到地方政府债务的影响？而政府的税收征管动机与行为，在这一影响过程中又扮演着何种角色？本研究围绕地方政府债务对企业实际税负的影响展开考察，结果显示地方政府在化解偿债压力的过程中，会对税收征管行为做出权衡取舍。研究总体发现，地方政府债务规模扩张推高了辖区内企业的实际税负，这一效应主要体现在非国有企业以及由地方税务部门征管的企业中。机制检验结果表明，地方债务压力会促使地方政府调整税收征管强度与税收优惠政策，进而推高辖区内企业的税负水平。进一步区分制度环境的异质性检验显示，不同地区的地方政府税收征管行为以及其对企业税负的影响存在显著差异。具体而言，在制度环境较好的地区，地方政府的强征管行为效果更为显著；而在制度环境较差的地区，由于市场竞争力不足，地方政府更倾向于为辖区内企业营造宽松的税收征管环境，以此稳定税基，并通过长期税收增长化解债务压力。在区域发展不平衡的现实背景下，本研究为地方债务扩张通过影响地方政府税收征管行为，进而作用于辖区内企业实际税负这一机制提供了经验证据，有助于理解发展中国家转型期的政府行为逻辑，并为完善公共债务管理制度、营造公平税收环境以及推动经济高质量发展提供了政策启示。