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Export tax refund and the misreporting by Chinese exporters

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  • Xinzheng Shi
  • Zhufeng Xu

Abstract

We document how Chinese exporters misreport their exports to China's customs in order to benefit from export tax refunds. We estimate the response of the logarithmic difference between the exports reported in China's customs data and the imports reported in destination countries' customs data to export tax refund rates. We find that with an increase of 1 percentage point in export tax refund rates, the logarithmic difference increases by 0.051. Additionally, with an increase of 1 percentage point in the export tax refund rates of similar products, this gap decreases by 0.024. Further study reveals that quantity manipulation accounts for the majority of the export reporting distortion. Remboursement de la taxe à l'exportation et fausses déclarations des exportateurs chinois. Nous avons documenté la façon dont les exportateurs chinois communiquent des renseignements incomplets sur leurs exportations aux douanes de la Chine en vue de bénéficier des remboursements de la taxe à l'exportation. Nous estimons la réponse de la différence logarithmique entre les exportations déclarées dans les données douanières de la Chine et les importations déclarées dans les données douanières des pays destinataires aux taux de remboursement de la taxe à l'exportation. Nous constatons qu'une hausse de 1 point de pourcentage du taux de remboursement de la taxe à l'exportation produit une hausse de la différence logarithmique de 0,051. De plus, avec une hausse de 1 point de pourcentage du taux de remboursement de la taxe à l'exportation pour des produits semblables, cet écart diminue de 0,024. Une étude plus approfondie révèle que la modification des quantités représente la majorité des falsifications dans la communication de renseignements sur les exportations.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinzheng Shi & Zhufeng Xu, 2023. "Export tax refund and the misreporting by Chinese exporters," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(4), pages 1469-1489, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:56:y:2023:i:4:p:1469-1489
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12679
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    References listed on IDEAS

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