IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v93y2026ics1544612326001261.html

Can value-added tax reform improve the export competitiveness? Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Meng, Chao
  • Zhang, Yimei

Abstract

This study uses data of China’s A-share listed firms spanning 2012–2022 to analyze the effect of value-added tax (VAT) credit refunds on export competitiveness. Additionally, it explores the characteristics of heterogeneity, analyzing the connection between tax policy and competitiveness. Notably, VAT credit refunds significantly improve firms’ export competitiveness. Mediation effect test concludes that firms’ cash flow and research and development investment play a partial intermediary role between VAT credit refunds and firm export competitiveness. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the improvement effect is more significant in firms issuing standard audit opinions; firms with financial backgrounds; firms with directors, supervisors, and senior executives; and firms without overseas backgrounds. This study provides empirical evidence and policy reference for improving the VAT credit refund policy and assisting firms enhance their export competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Meng, Chao & Zhang, Yimei, 2026. "Can value-added tax reform improve the export competitiveness? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:93:y:2026:i:c:s1544612326001261
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2026.109595
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612326001261
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2026.109595?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:eee:finlet:v:93:y:2026:i:c:s1544612326001261. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    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.