IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v69y2020icp582-598.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

GDP distortion and tax avoidance in local SOEs: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Xiaoxia
  • Cai, Guilong
  • Luo, Danglun

Abstract

This paper examines whether GDP distortion influences the tax decisions of local SOEs. Using night light data to estimate GDP distortion, we find a negative correlation between upwardly distorted local GDP and local SOEs engaging in tax avoidance. This effect is more pronounced when the promotion-related pressure on local officials is higher and during downturns in the macro economy. Furthermore, local SOEs that undertake less tax avoidance are more likely to subsequently receive subsidies from the local government. Our results suggest that there is reciprocity in the relationship between local SOEs and local officials: local SOEs help local officials by engaging in less tax avoidance, which allows local officials to boost GDP data, and in return, local SOEs may receive more subsidies in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Xiaoxia & Cai, Guilong & Luo, Danglun, 2020. "GDP distortion and tax avoidance in local SOEs: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 582-598.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:69:y:2020:i:c:p:582-598
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2020.06.042
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056020301556
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2020.06.042?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Shuping & Chen, Xia & Cheng, Qiang & Shevlin, Terry, 2010. "Are family firms more tax aggressive than non-family firms?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 41-61, January.
    2. Huang, Henry He & Lobo, Gerald J. & Wang, Chong & Xie, Hong, 2016. "Customer concentration and corporate tax avoidance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 184-200.
    3. Krueger, Anne O, 1990. "Government Failures in Development," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 9-23, Summer.
    4. Piotroski, Joseph D. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2014. "Politicians and the IPO decision: The impact of impending political promotions on IPO activity in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 111-136.
    5. Zhang, Min & M, Lijun & Zhang, Bo & Yi, Zhihong, 2016. "Pyramidal structure, political intervention and firms' tax burden: Evidence from China's local SOEs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 15-25.
    6. Gupta, Sanjay & Newberry, Kaye, 1997. "Determinants of the variability in corporate effective tax rates: Evidence from longitudinal data," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 1-34.
    7. Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou, 2013. "Pre‐Colonial Ethnic Institutions and Contemporary African Development," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(1), pages 113-152, January.
    8. Fan, C. Simon & Lin, Chen & Treisman, Daniel, 2009. "Political decentralization and corruption: Evidence from around the world," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 14-34, February.
    9. Jan Thomas Martini & Rainer Niemann & Dirk Simons, 2012. "Transfer Pricing or Formula Apportionment? Tax†Induced Distortions of Multinationals’ Investment and Production Decisions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 1060-1086, December.
    10. 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.
    11. Joseph P. H. Fan & T. J. Wong & Tianyu Zhang, 2013. "Institutions and Organizational Structure: The Case of State-Owned Corporate Pyramids," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(6), pages 1217-1252, December.
    12. Chen, Shimin & Sun, Zheng & Tang, Song & Wu, Donghui, 2011. "Government intervention and investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 259-271, April.
    13. 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.
    14. Zimmerman, Jerold L., 1983. "Taxes and firm size," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 119-149, April.
    15. Chyz, James A., 2013. "Personally tax aggressive executives and corporate tax sheltering," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 311-328.
    16. Augusta Ferreira & João Carvalho & Fátima Pinho, 2013. "Earnings Management Around Zero: A motivation to local politician signalling competence," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(5), pages 657-686, June.
    17. Chen, Ye & Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Relative performance evaluation and the turnover of provincial leaders in China," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 421-425, September.
    18. Liansheng Wu & Yaping Wang & Wei Luo & Paul Gillis, 2012. "State ownership, tax status and size effect of effective tax rate in China," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 97-114, June.
    19. Chay, J.B. & Suh, Jungwon, 2009. "Payout policy and cash-flow uncertainty," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 88-107, July.
    20. Sonja Olhoft Rego, 2003. "Tax†Avoidance Activities of U.S. Multinational Corporations," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(4), pages 805-833, December.
    21. Wong, T. J., 2016. "Corporate Governance Research on Listed Firms in China: Institutions, Governance and Accountability," Foundations and Trends(R) in Accounting, now publishers, vol. 9(4), pages 259-326, March.
    22. Lyu, Changjiang & Wang, Kemin & Zhang, Frank & Zhang, Xin, 2018. "GDP management to meet or beat growth targets," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 318-338.
    23. K. Hung Chan & Phyllis L. L. Mo & Amy Y. Zhou & Steven Cahan, 2013. "Government ownership, corporate governance and tax aggressiveness: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(4), pages 1029-1051, December.
    24. Michael Firth & Sonia Wong & Yong Yang, 2014. "The double-edged sword of CEO/chairperson duality in corporatized state-owned firms: evidence from top management turnover in China," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(1), pages 207-244, February.
    25. J. Vernon Henderson & Adam Storeygard & David N. Weil, 2012. "Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 994-1028, April.
    26. Hope, Ole-Kristian & Ma, Mark (Shuai) & Thomas, Wayne B., 2013. "Tax avoidance and geographic earnings disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 170-189.
    27. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    28. Aharony, J & Lee, CWJ & Wong, TJ, 2000. "Financial packaging of IPO firms in China," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 103-126.
    29. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025.
    30. 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.
    31. Gallemore, John & Labro, Eva, 2015. "The importance of the internal information environment for tax avoidance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 149-167.
    32. Chen, Xiao & Lee, Chi-Wen Jevons & Li, Jing, 2008. "Government assisted earnings management in China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 262-274.
    33. Lin, Justin Yifu & Li, Zhiyun, 2008. "Policy burden, privatization and soft budget constraint," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 90-102, March.
    34. Bai, Chong-En & Li, David D. & Tao, Zhigang & Wang, Yijiang, 2000. "A Multitask Theory of State Enterprise Reform," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 716-738, December.
    35. Hanlon, Michelle & Heitzman, Shane, 2010. "A review of tax research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 127-178, December.
    36. Rawski, Thomas G., 2001. "What is happening to China's GDP statistics?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 347-354.
    37. Desai, Mihir A. & Dharmapala, Dhammika, 2006. "Corporate tax avoidance and high-powered incentives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 145-179, January.
    38. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    39. Roland Hodler & Paul A. Raschky, 2014. "Regional Favoritism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 995-1033.
    40. Lin, Justin Yifu & Cai, Fang & Li, Zhou, 1998. "Competition, Policy Burdens, and State-Owned Enterprise Reform," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 422-427, May.
    41. Chong-En Bai & Jiangyong Lu & Zhigang Tao, 2006. "The Multitask Theory of State Enterprise Reform: Empirical Evidence from China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 353-357, May.
    42. Kenneth J. Klassen & Stacie K. Laplante, 2012. "Are U.S. Multinational Corporations Becoming More Aggressive Income Shifters?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 1245-1285, December.
    43. 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.
    44. Chen, Charles J.P. & Li, Zengquan & Su, Xijia & Sun, Zheng, 2011. "Rent-seeking incentives, corporate political connections, and the control structure of private firms: Chinese evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 229-243, April.
    45. Badertscher, Brad A. & Katz, Sharon P. & Rego, Sonja O., 2013. "The separation of ownership and control and corporate tax avoidance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 228-250.
    46. 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.
    47. John R. Graham, 2003. "Taxes and Corporate Finance: A Review," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 1075-1129.
    48. Kim, Sangheon, 2008. "Does political intention affect tax evasion?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 401-415.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Hao, Rubin & Liao, Guanmin & Ding, Wenhong & Guan, Wei, 2022. "The informativeness of regional GDP announcements: Evidence from China," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 78-99.

    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. Zhang, Min & M, Lijun & Zhang, Bo & Yi, Zhihong, 2016. "Pyramidal structure, political intervention and firms' tax burden: Evidence from China's local SOEs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 15-25.
    3. Elena Fernández-Rodríguez & Roberto García-Fernández & Antonio Martínez-Arias, 2019. "Influence of Ownership Structure on the Determinants of Effective Tax Rates of Spanish Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Lobo, Gerald J. & Qiu, Buhui, 2021. "Organizational capital, corporate tax avoidance, and firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Guangyong Lei & Wanwan Wang & Junli Yu & Kam C. Chan, 2022. "Cultural Diversity and Corporate Tax Avoidance: Evidence from Chinese Private Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(2), pages 357-379, March.
    6. 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).
    7. Christofer Adrian & Mukesh Garg & Anh Viet Pham & Soon-Yeow Phang & Cameron Truong, 2023. "Do Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Tax Avoidance? The Case of Drought," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 105-135, August.
    8. Shen, Yuxin & Xu, Hanwen & Yu, Shuangli & Xu, Wei & Shen, Yongjian, 2022. "Air pollution and tax avoidance: New evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 402-420.
    9. 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.
    10. Qingyuan Li & Edward L. Maydew & Richard H. Willis & Li Xu, 2022. "Corporate tax behavior and political uncertainty: Evidence from national elections around the world," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(9-10), pages 1605-1641, October.
    11. 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.
    12. Qingyuan Li & Edward L. Maydew & Richard H. Willis & Li Xu, 2023. "Taxes and director independence: evidence from board reforms worldwide," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 910-957, June.
    13. Richardson, Grant & Wang, Bei & Zhang, Xinmin, 2016. "Ownership structure and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from publicly listed private firms in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 141-158.
    14. Martin Jacob & Anna Rohlfing-Bastian & Kai Sandner, 2021. "Why do not all firms engage in tax avoidance?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 459-495, February.
    15. Wenzhou Qu & Shaoqing Kang & Lihong Wang, 2020. "Saving or tunnelling: value effects of tax avoidance in Chinese listed local government‐controlled firms," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(5), pages 4421-4465, December.
    16. Leung, Sidney C.M. & Richardson, Grant & Taylor, Grantley, 2019. "The effect of the general anti-avoidance rule on corporate tax avoidance in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 105-117.
    17. Argilés-Bosch, Josep M. & Somoza, Antonio & Ravenda, Diego & García-Blandón, Josep, 2020. "An empirical examination of the influence of e-commerce on tax avoidance in Europe," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    18. Zhang, Wei & Xiong, Xiong & Wang, Guanying & Li, Chunxia, 2022. "Corporate ownership and political connections: Evidence from post-IPO long term performance in China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    19. Wang, Wei & Wang, Hua & Wu, Ji (George), 2021. "Mixed ownership reform and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence of Chinese listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    20. Wei Cen & Naqiong Tong & Yushi Sun, 2017. "Tax avoidance and cost of debt: evidence from a natural experiment in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(5), pages 1517-1556, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Local GDP distortion; Tax avoidance; Local SOEs; Political promotion pressure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • P31 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions

    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:reveco:v:69:y:2020:i:c:p:582-598. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620165 .

    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.