Chen Yang, School of Economics

 Abstract: In the process from extensive economic development to high-quality development and from factor driven development to innovation driven development, China has gradually formed a consensus within the whole society, and its understanding of ecological protection and economic development has reached a new level. By strengthening environmental protection and optimizing the rational allocation mechanism of resources, the sustainability of ecology and economy can achieve each other and go hand in hand, forming a benign long-term development mechanism. Fromthe microlevel, enterprise development resonates with national economic development. The sustainable development of enterprises must be based on environmental performance. Especially in the critical period of economic transformation, the risks faced by heavily polluting enterprises are really related to their own survival, upgrading and development. In 2018, the environmental protection tax law was formally established and implemented, which strengthened the regulatory rigidity of enterprises and strongly demonstrated the determination of the state to control pollution and reduce emission. This is not only a challenge to the sustainable development of heavily polluting enterprises, but also a key opportunity to break and build. With the increasingly strict environmental regulation, whether heavily polluting enterprises can strive for change and break through difficulties under the heavy pressure of policy, public opinion and financial performance has become the key to coordinate economic development and environmental protection. Therefore, this paper studies the impact of environmental protection tax on its sustainable development and technological innovation from the micro level and based on heavy polluting enterprises; The mechanism of technological innovation in the relationship between environmental protection tax and the sustainable development of heavily polluting enterprises; The impact of environmental protection tax on heavy polluting enterprises in different regions is different; Different heavy polluting enterprises have different responses to environmental protection tax. Starting from the above problems, this paper analyzes the impact of the collection of environmental protection tax on the sustainable development of heavy polluting enterprises, hoping to put forward opinions on improving the relevant policies of environmental protection tax, and explore the development direction for heavy polluting enterprises at the crossroads of environmental protection and innovation.

This paper uses ESG, a more "green" non-financial index, to describe the sustainable development of enterprises, and explores the relevant mechanisms of environmental protection tax, technological innovation of heavily polluting enterprises and sustainable development of enterprises based on the previous research experience. Through the analysis of the relevant current situation of heavy polluting enterprises, we have a preliminary judgment on the impact of environmental protection tax on the behavior of heavy polluting enterprises. On this basis, this paper puts forward assumptions, uses the two-way fixed effect model, selects the data of Listed Companies in heavy pollution industries from 2010 to 2020, and empirically tests the relationship between environmental protection tax, enterprise technological innovation and enterprise sustainable development. The results show that: (1) environmental protection tax affects the sustainable development of heavy polluting enterprises and plays a positive role; (2) environmental protection tax has an internal driving effect on the technological innovation of heavy polluting enterprises; (3) in the process of environmental protection tax promoting the sustainable development of heavy polluting enterprises, enterprise technological innovation plays an intermediary role. (4) The environmental protection tax plays an obvious role in promoting the sustainable development of heavy polluting enterprises in the central and eastern regions, but can not promote the sustainable development of heavy polluting enterprises in the western region. (5) Environmental protection tax plays an obvious role in promoting the sustainable development of state-owned heavy polluting enterprises. Starting from the conclusion, some suggestions are put forward: formulate the environmental protection tax policy of "combining hardness and softness" to help the sustainable development of heavy polluting enterprises; Improve the tax collection and management system; Expand the scope of environmental protection tax; Improve the green tax system and form a long-term mechanism for environmental protection; Jointly promote the development of "localization" ESG rating; Improve the innovation ability of enterprises and enhance the awareness of environmental protection.

Read the article here:           【可持续发展】环保税对重污染企业可持续发展的影响研究——基于企业技术创新的中介效应分析.pdf