原文:Canstatetaxpoliciesbeusedtopromoteentrepreneurialactivity?AbstractDespitearecentflurryofempiricalresearchontheeffectsoftaxesonsmallbusinessactivity,state-leveltaxesfacedbyentrepreneurshavebeenoverlookedbymostoftheexistingliterature.Usinga50-statepaneloftaxpolicyinformationspanningtheyears1989through2002,ouranalysisrevealsthatstatetaxpoliciesgenerallydonotappeartohavequantitativelyimportanteffectsonentrepreneurialactivity.Whenwefindstatisticallyimportanteffects,wefindthathigherindividualincometaxrates,theexistenceofastate-levelestate,inheritanceorgifttax,andahigherweightonthesalesfactorinthestatecorporateincometaxapportionmentformulaallslightlyreduceastate’sshareofthenationalentrepreneurialstock.Resultsalsoindicatethatstateswithmoreprogressivepersonalincometaxstructuresandstatesthathavemoreaggressivecorporateincometaxesthroughtheimpositionofacombinedreportingrequirementbothtendtohaveslightlyhigherentrepreneurshiprates.Thecompositionofstatetaxportfoliosisnotfoundtobeasignificantdeterminantofstateentrepreneurship.1IntroductionTheinterplaybetweentaxpolicyandentrepreneurialactivityhasenjoyedaresurgenceintheempiricaleconomicsliterature.Mostoftherecentresearchhasfocusedonfederaltaxes,however,leavingstatetaxpoliciesrelativelyunexplored.Asstatescontinuetograpplewithdifficultissuesinbusinesstaxationanddevelopmentincentives,athoroughconsiderationoftheeffectsofstatetaxpoliciesonentrepreneurialactivitybecomesevenmoreimportant,especiallywhenconsideringthepossiblebenefitsthatcouldfollownewentrepreneurialventuresthrougheconomicgrowth,innovation,andthelike.Inthisreport,weexaminetherelationshipsbetweenstatetaxpolicyandentrepreneurshipusingalongitudinaldatabaseofdetailedinformationonstatetaxpoliciesforall50USstatesfrom1989through2002.Thisinvestigationiswarrantedforanumberofreasons.First,asaresultofthefocusonfederaltaxes,earlierresearchhasonlyconsideredasubsetofthetaxesfacing第1页共11页编号:时间:2021年x月x日书山有路勤为径,学海无涯苦作舟页码:第1页共11页smallbusinesses.Forexample,Clineetal.(2006)showthatthetotalstateandlocaltaxburdenforUSbusinessesincludesmuchmorethandirectbusinesstaxessuchascorporateincometaxesorstatefranchise,excise,orgrossreceiptstaxes.Businesses—especiallysmallbusinesses—alsopaysignificantamountsofpropertyandsalestaxes,alongwithagrowingmenuofmiscellaneouschargesandfees.Theexistingarrayofstatetaxstructuresprovidesavirtualcornucopiaofexogenouspolicyvariationthatcanbeusedtocleanlyidentifyentrepreneurialresponses.Asecondmotivationforourstudyistheobservationthatstategovernmentscontinuetodebateandenactthebulkofpro-entrepreneurshippolicyintheUSwithoutthebenefitofharddataontheeffectsofthosepoliciesonsmallbusinessdevelopmentandsuccess.Ononehand,highertaxesmightreduceentrepreneurialactivitybyloweringthereturns.Ontheotherhand,highertaxesincreasetherewardsfromtaxavoidanceorevasionandthusmighthavetheundesirableeffectofincreasingentrepreneurialactivity.Thesetwoimpactsmightalsooffseteachother,suchthathighertaxeshavenonoticeableimpactonentrepreneurialactivity.Theextenttowhichtaxpolicies—especiallystatetaxpolicies—actuallyinfluenceentrepreneurialactivityrequiresempiricalexploration.Iftaxesdonotaffectentrepreneurialactivity(i.e.,ifthereturnsandavoidanceeffectsareeitherbothsmallorcanceleachotherout),usingtaxpolicytoencourageinnovationorgrowththroughentrepreneurshipisnotlikel...