The impact of VAT input tax refund policy on firms’ labor income share: Evidence from China

IF 7.9 2区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Economic Analysis and Policy Pub Date : 2025-06-01 DOI:10.1016/j.eap.2025.05.054

Guang-Zhao Yang , Deng-Kui Si

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study examines the impact of China’s 2018 VAT input tax credit refund policy on the labor income share within enterprises. Using panel data from Chinese listed companies between 2014 and 2022, we find that the policy increased the labor income share by approximately 0.8 percentage points. The reform reduced industry concentration and improved firms’ access to external financing. The effects were more pronounced among private firms, financially constrained firms, high-productivity enterprises, and labor-intensive sectors. In addition, the policy stimulated greater R&D investment and output, accompanied by increased hiring of technical personnel. While average employee compensation rose, executive pay grew at an even faster rate, indicating a potential widening of intra-firm wage inequality. The policy also contributed to overall employment expansion. These findings suggest that the VAT refund policy positively affected labor income distribution, with broader implications for corporate investment behavior and internal wage structures.

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增值税进项退税政策对企业劳动收入份额的影响：来自中国的证据

本研究考察了中国2018年增值税进项税抵免退税政策对企业内部劳动收入份额的影响。利用2014 - 2022年中国上市公司的面板数据，我们发现该政策使劳动收入占比提高了约0.8个百分点。改革降低了行业集中度，改善了企业获得外部融资的渠道。这种影响在私营企业、资金受限企业、高生产率企业和劳动密集型部门更为明显。此外，该政策刺激了更多的研发投资和产出，同时增加了对技术人员的雇用。在员工平均薪酬上涨的同时，高管薪酬的增长速度更快，这表明公司内部工资不平等可能会扩大。该政策还促进了总体就业的扩大。这些发现表明，增值税退税政策正向影响劳动收入分配，对企业投资行为和内部工资结构具有更广泛的影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Economic Analysis and Policy ECONOMICS-

CiteScore

9.80

自引率

9.20%

发文量

231

审稿时长

93 days

期刊介绍： Economic Analysis and Policy (established 1970) publishes articles from all branches of economics with a particular focus on research, theoretical and applied, which has strong policy relevance. The journal also publishes survey articles and empirical replications on key policy issues. Authors are expected to highlight the main insights in a non-technical introduction and in the conclusion.