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How Distortive are Turnover Taxes? Evidence from Replacing Turnover Tax with VAT

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  • Jing Xing
  • Katarzyna A. Bilicka
  • Xipei Hou
  • Sepideh Raei

Abstract

We investigate the impact of tax cascading on upstream and downstream firms. As a natural experiment, we explore a reform that replaced turnover taxes with value-added taxes for service industries in China, which effectively removed tax cascading. We find a relative increase in sales, R&D investment, and employment for affected service firms. These changes are mainly driven by increased outsourcing from manufacturing firms, and are unlikely to be caused by changes in firms’ tax burden or output prices. Our study provides new evidence on how taxation affects supplier networks and firm performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing Xing & Katarzyna A. Bilicka & Xipei Hou & Sepideh Raei, 2022. "How Distortive are Turnover Taxes? Evidence from Replacing Turnover Tax with VAT," NBER Working Papers 29650, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29650
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    1. Garriga, Pablo & Tortarolo, Dario, 2024. "Firms as tax collectors," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D25 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice: Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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