Environmental Protection Fee-to-Tax and Corporate Environmental Social Responsibility: A Test Based on Corporate Life Cycle Theory

Corporate environmental social responsibility enhancement is an important way to promote green and low-carbon economic transformation achieve high-quality development. As reform of China’s taxation system, protection fees taxes play a unique role in governance. However, faced with the increase intensity regulations after implementation fee-to-tax, will firms take initiative assume (ESR)? This paper uses Environmental Protection Tax Law 2018 as quasi-natural experiment study impact fee-to-tax policy on corporate ESR from life-cycle perspective. We find that, overall, significantly increases likelihood by 66%. By life cycle stage, effect mainly reflected maturity decline stage firms, growth not obvious. The design current tax system differences financial status, business strategies, management levels different stages are factors this phenomenon. Further sub-sample regressions show that among state-owned, key regulated higher financing-constrained especially those periods. findings enrich theory provide reference for decision making further improve policies stimulate firm’s transformation.