IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/acctfi/v65y2025i1p819-856.html

Preventive regulation and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Qiaochao Yuan
  • Jun Bai

Abstract

This study examines whether and how preventive regulation impacts corporate tax avoidance in China, using the random inspection of accounting information quality (RIAIQ) by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) as a quasi‐natural experiment. Our staggered difference‐in‐differences estimates indicate that improving preventive regulation through the MOF's RIAIQ can inhibit corporate tax avoidance, especially for firms with tax issues, disclosed specific noncompliance amounts, stronger external supervision, lower marketisation level, and middle nominal tax rates. Mechanism tests demonstrate that preventive regulation diminishes corporate tax avoidance activities by mitigating managerial agency conflicts and intergovernmental agency conflicts in the decision‐making process. Our findings highlight the governance role of preventive regulation in constraining corporate tax avoidance.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiaochao Yuan & Jun Bai, 2025. "Preventive regulation and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 65(1), pages 819-856, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:65:y:2025:i:1:p:819-856
    DOI: 10.1111/acfi.13351
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.13351
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/acfi.13351?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jean-Jacques Laffont & Jean Tirole, 1991. "The Politics of Government Decision-Making: A Theory of Regulatory Capture," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(4), pages 1089-1127.
    2. Philipp Doerrenberg & Andreas Peichl & Sebastian Siegloch, 2017. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income in the Presence of Deduction Possibilities," NBER Chapters, in: Personal Income Taxation and Household Behavior (TAPES), National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Jon N. Kerr, 2019. "Transparency, Information Shocks, and Tax Avoidance," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(2), pages 1146-1183, June.
    4. Chen, Tao & Lin, Chen, 2017. "Does Information Asymmetry Affect Corporate Tax Aggressiveness?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(5), pages 2053-2081, October.
    5. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    6. Kirchler,Erich, 2007. "The Economic Psychology of Tax Behaviour," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521876742, August.
    7. Ortega, Daniel & Scartascini, Carlos, 2020. "Don’t blame the messenger. The Delivery method of a message matters," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 286-300.
    8. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    9. Joel Slemrod, 2019. "Tax Compliance and Enforcement," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 57(4), pages 904-954, December.
    10. Ugur Lel & Darius P. Miller, 2015. "Does Takeover Activity Cause Managerial Discipline? Evidence from International M&A Laws," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(6), pages 1588-1622.
    11. Dina Pomeranz & José Vila-Belda, 2019. "Taking State-Capacity Research to the Field: Insights from Collaborations with Tax Authorities," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 755-781, August.
    12. Shen, Zhihan & Zhang, Ruipeng & Li, Peigong, 2024. "Local government debt and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 985-1000.
    13. Allingham, Michael G. & Sandmo, Agnar, 1972. "Income tax evasion: a theoretical analysis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(3-4), pages 323-338, November.
    14. Cooper, Maggie & Nguyen, Quyen T.K., 2019. "Understanding the interaction of motivation and opportunity for tax planning inside US multinationals: A qualitative study," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(6), pages 1-1.
    15. Yan, Chao & Wang, Jiaxin & Wang, Zhi & Chan, Kam C., 2023. "Is reverence for life reverence for rule? Awe culture and corporate tax avoidance in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    16. Marcelo Bergolo & Rodrigo Ceni & Guillermo Cruces & Matias Giaccobasso & Ricardo Perez-Truglia, 2023. "Tax Audits as Scarecrows: Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 110-153, February.
    17. Florian S. Peters & Alexander F. Wagner, 2014. "The Executive Turnover Risk Premium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(4), pages 1529-1563, August.
    18. Bradshaw, Mark & Liao, Guanmin & Ma, Mark (Shuai), 2019. "Agency costs and tax planning when the government is a major Shareholder," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 255-277.
    19. Chansog (Francis) Kim & Liandong Zhang, 2016. "Corporate Political Connections and Tax Aggressiveness," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 78-114, March.
    20. Jackson, Howell E. & Roe, Mark J., 2009. "Public and private enforcement of securities laws: Resource-based evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 207-238, August.
    21. Qian, Yingyi & Roland, Gerard, 1998. "Federalism and the Soft Budget Constraint," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(5), pages 1143-1162, December.
    22. Xi Zhong & Liuyang Ren & Ge Ren, 2023. "Performance shortfall, institutional logic and firms’ tax avoidance," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(4), pages 855-886, December.
    23. Joel Peress, 2014. "The Media and the Diffusion of Information in Financial Markets: Evidence from Newspaper Strikes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 2007-2043, October.
    24. Kenny Z. Lin & Lillian F. Mills & Fang Zhang & Yongbo Li, 2018. "Do Political Connections Weaken Tax Enforcement Effectiveness?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(4), pages 1941-1972, December.
    25. Hamdi Ben-Nasr & Sabri Boubaker, 2024. "Government debt and stock price crash risk: International Evidence," Post-Print hal-04648524, HAL.
    26. Wongsinhirun, Nopparat & Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Chintrakarn, Pandej & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2024. "Tax avoidance, managerial ownership, and agency conflicts," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    27. Raymond Fisman & Shang-Jin Wei, 2004. "Tax Rates and Tax Evasion: Evidence from "Missing Imports" in China," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(2), pages 471-500, April.
    28. Ben-Nasr, Hamdi & Boubaker, Sabri, 2024. "Government debt and stock price crash risk: International Evidence," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    29. Peng, Pin & Lin, Gaoyi, 2024. "Local government debt and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    30. Thomas Tørsløv & Ludvig Wier & Gabriel Zucman, 2023. "The Missing Profits of Nations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(3), pages 1499-1534.
    31. Boning, William C. & Guyton, John & Hodge, Ronald & Slemrod, Joel, 2020. "Heard it through the grapevine: The direct and network effects of a tax enforcement field experiment on firms," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    32. Norman Gemmell & Marisa Ratto, 2018. "The Effects of Penalty Information on Tax Compliance: Evidence from a New Zealand Field Experiment," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 71(3), pages 547-588, September.
    33. Cornaggia, Jess & Li, Jay Yin, 2019. "The value of access to finance: Evidence from M&As," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(1), pages 232-250.
    34. Joel Slemrod & Caroline Weber, 2012. "Evidence of the invisible: toward a credibility revolution in the empirical analysis of tax evasion and the informal economy," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 19(1), pages 25-53, February.
    35. Jaewoo Kim & Sean McGuire & Steven Savoy & Ryan Wilson, 2022. "Expected economic growth and investment in corporate tax planning," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 745-778, June.
    36. Chen, Hanwen & Liu, Siyi & Wang, Junjie & Wu, Zhijuan, 2022. "The effect of geographic proximity on corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    37. Hongbin Cai & Qiao Liu, 2009. "Competition and Corporate Tax Avoidance: Evidence from Chinese Industrial Firms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(537), pages 764-795, April.
    38. Lampenius, Niklas & Shevlin, Terry & Stenzel, Arthur, 2021. "Measuring corporate tax rate and tax base avoidance of U.S. Domestic and U.S. multinational firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    39. Slemrod, Joel & Collins, Brett & Hoopes, Jeffrey L. & Reck, Daniel & Sebastiani, Michael, 2017. "Does credit-card information reporting improve small-business tax compliance?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 1-19.
    40. Yingyi Qian & Barry R. Weingast, 1997. "Federalism as a Commitment to Reserving Market Incentives," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 83-92, Fall.
    41. Holz, Justin E. & List, John A. & Zentner, Alejandro & Cardoza, Marvin & Zentner, Joaquin E., 2023. "The $100 million nudge: Increasing tax compliance of firms using a natural field experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    42. Al Mamun, Md & Balachandran, Balasingham & Duong, Huu Nhan, 2020. "Powerful CEOs and stock price crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    43. Frey, Bruno S, 1997. "A Constitution for Knaves Crowds Out Civic Virtues," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(443), pages 1043-1053, July.
    44. Giulia Mascagni, 2018. "From The Lab To The Field: A Review Of Tax Experiments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 273-301, April.
    45. Nadja Dwenger & Lukas Treber, 2022. "Shaming for Tax Enforcement," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(11), pages 8202-8233, November.
    46. Michael Hallsworth, 2014. "The use of field experiments to increase tax compliance," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 30(4), pages 658-679.
    47. Thomas Tørsløv & Ludvig Wier & Gabriel Zucman, 2023. "The Missing Profits of Nations," Post-Print halshs-04928943, HAL.
    48. Martin Jacob, 2022. "Real Effects of Corporate Taxation: A Review," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 269-296, January.
    49. Inder K. Khurana & Wei Wang, 2019. "International Mergers and Acquisitions Laws, the Market for Corporate Control, and Accounting Conservatism," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 57(1), pages 241-290, March.
    50. Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1743-1762, September.
    51. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Blouin, Jennifer L. & Jagolinzer, Alan D. & Larcker, David F., 2015. "Corporate Governance, Incentives, and Tax Avoidance," Research Papers 2134, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    52. Hanlon, Michelle & Heitzman, Shane, 2010. "A review of tax research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 127-178, December.
    53. Jinshuai Hu & Siqi Li & Terry Shevlin, 2023. "How does the market for corporate control impact tax avoidance? Evidence from international M&A laws," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 340-383, March.
    54. Jie Gan & Yan Guo & Chenggang Xu, 2018. "Decentralized Privatization and Change of Control Rights in China," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(10), pages 3854-3894.
    55. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2010. "Big Bad Banks? The Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1637-1667, October.
    56. Allen H. Huang & Reuven Lehavy & Amy Y. Zang & Rong Zheng, 2018. "Analyst Information Discovery and Interpretation Roles: A Topic Modeling Approach," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(6), pages 2833-2855, June.
    57. Mark L. Defond & Clive S. Lennox, 2017. "Do PCAOB Inspections Improve the Quality of Internal Control Audits?," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 55(3), pages 591-627, June.
    58. Fung, Simon Yu Kit & Raman, K.K. & Zhu, Xindong (Kevin), 2017. "Does the PCAOB international inspection program improve audit quality for non-US-listed foreign clients?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 15-36.
    59. Fangjun Wang & Shuolei Xu & Junqin Sun & Charles P. Cullinan, 2020. "Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Literature Review And Research Agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 793-811, September.
    60. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    61. Kenneth J. Klassen & Stacie Kelley Laplante, 2012. "The Effect of Foreign Reinvestment and Financial Reporting Incentives on Cross†Jurisdictional Income Shifting," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 928-955, September.
    62. Chan, Kalok & Hameed, Allaudeen, 2006. "Stock price synchronicity and analyst coverage in emerging markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 115-147, April.
    63. Lanis, Roman & Richardson, Grant, 2011. "The effect of board of director composition on corporate tax aggressiveness," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 50-70, January.
    64. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Blouin, Jennifer L. & Jagolinzer, Alan D. & Larcker, David F., 2015. "Corporate governance, incentives, and tax avoidance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 1-17.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kovermann, Jost & Velte, Patrick, 2019. "The impact of corporate governance on corporate tax avoidance—A literature review," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Dongmin Kong & Yue Zhang & Ni Qin, 2025. "Anti-corruption campaign and corporate tax evasion: evidence from China," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 32(1), pages 1-50, February.
    3. Jin, Ge & Lv, Wanying & Chen, Wenqiang & Lin, Feiteng, 2025. "Central environmental supervision and corporate tax strategies: Evidence from China's key pollutant-discharging units list," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    4. Wang, Changrong & Richardson, Grant & Cao, Yanming, 2024. "Long live the walking dead? Corporate tax avoidance and zombie firms in China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(3).
    5. Fangjun Wang & Shuolei Xu & Junqin Sun & Charles P. Cullinan, 2020. "Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Literature Review And Research Agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 793-811, September.
    6. James Alm & Lilith Burgstaller & Arrita Domi & Amanda März & Matthias Kasper, 2023. "Nudges, Boosts, and Sludge: Using New Behavioral Approaches to Improve Tax Compliance," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-22, September.
    7. Antinyan, Armenak & Asatryan, Zareh, 2019. "Nudging for tax compliance: A meta-analysis," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-055, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    8. Pan, Yang & Wu, Xihao, 2026. "Tax centralization, political connections, and corporate tax avoidance," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. Jian Chu & Yaowen Shan & Gary Gang Tian, 2025. "Corrupt tax bureau commissioners and corporate tax avoidance," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 1873-1915, June.
    10. Olga Bogachek & Antonio De Vito & Paul Demeré & Francesco Grossetti, 2026. "Using narrative disclosures to predict tax outcomes," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 374-412, March.
    11. Li, Jianjun & Wang, Xuan & Wu, Yaping, 2020. "Can government improve tax compliance by adopting advanced information technology? Evidence from the Golden Tax Project III in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 384-397.
    12. Xiao, He & Xi, Jianqun, 2025. "The Effect of the Invisible Power: Board Informal Hierarchy and Corporate Tax Avoidance," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    13. Yaohua Qin & He Xiao, 2025. "Air pollution and corporate tax avoidance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 64(1), pages 475-503, January.
    14. Yogama, Eko Arief & Gray, Daniel J. & Rablen, Matthew D., 2024. "Nudging for prompt tax penalty payment: Evidence from a field experiment in Indonesia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 548-579.
    15. Feng Huang & Jie Gao, 2022. "Customer and Tax Avoidance: How Does Customer Geographic Proximity Affect a Supplier’s Tax Avoidance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-30, November.
    16. Jinshuai Hu & Siqi Li & Terry Shevlin, 2023. "How does the market for corporate control impact tax avoidance? Evidence from international M&A laws," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 340-383, March.
    17. Chen, Shenglan & Ma, Hui & Teng, Haimeng & Wu, Qiang, 2022. "Banking liberalization and corporate tax planning: Evidence from natural experiments," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    18. Athira, A. & Ramesh, Vishnu K., 2023. "COVID-19 and corporate tax avoidance: International evidence," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    19. James Alm & Laura Rosales Cifuentes & Carlos Mauricio Ortiz Niño & Diana Rocha, 2019. "Can Behavioral “Nudges” Improve Compliance? The Case of Colombia Social Protection Contributions," Games, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-23, October.
    20. Liang Xu & Xinyan Yan & Haoyi Yang & Wenqiao Zhang, 2026. "Prosocial CEOs and Corporate Tax Avoidance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 204(2), pages 367-390, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:65:y:2025:i:1:p:819-856. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaanzea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.