Depreciation Rate by Industrial Sector and Profit after Tax in China

Abstract This study examines how asset values by industry sectors are affected by different depreciation methods. We theoretically show that estimating depreciation rate by the Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM) contains more information than the method by Depreciation Expense as Accounting Item (DEAI), which are equivalent under certain conditions. Using data of 37 industrial sectors in China from 2001 to 2016, we estimate depreciation rates by sectors using both PIM and DEAI methods, which enable us to estimate capital stock and capital efficiency by sectors. By the panel estimation, depreciation rates estimated by both PIM and DEAI methods significantly increase with the enterprise's profits after tax defined by that profits before tax minus tax. Our result is consistent with the prediction of the economic depreciation hypothesis, implying that tax shield of depreciation that raises corporate after-tax cash flows to the firm could improve corporate investments for replacement by scrapping the old equipment.