Does Tax Incentives Matter to Enterprises’ Green Technology Innovation? The Mediating Role on R&D Investment

Abstract

This study focused on China’s A-share listed companies from 2017 to 2022, and concluded that tax incentives have a positive impact on the performance of green technology innovation, and that value-added tax preferences are more effective than income tax preferences. Tax incentives guide enterprises to increase R&D investment, and R&D investment constitutes the mechanism of tax incentives to promote the performance green technology innovation. Non-state-owned enterprises benefit more from the timely help of tax incentives. Higher levels of the business environment in certain regions lead to more significant promoting effects of tax incentives. Enterprises in non-heavily polluting industries are more easily incentivized by preferential tax policies to undertake more green innovations. The study’s findings aimed to improve current preferential tax policies and help enterprises achieve green and innovative development.