An Empirical Study on Tax Incentives and Investment Promotion in Taiwan

過去許多學術文獻針對租稅優惠吸引投資之效果進行實證分析，但實證結論並不一致。我國自1950年即開始實施一連串的租稅獎勵政策，時至今日，租稅減免仍是我國政府推動重大經濟政策慣用的誘因手段。為探討了解臺灣實施租稅優惠措施對投資變化之影響，本研究針對我國自民國50年代後期以來涉及租稅減免之相關法令進行整理，另為了充分量化這些租稅優惠措施，則參考國外相關實證文獻作法，建構了兩項租稅誘因指標作為虛擬變數，來追蹤自民國61年以來我國不同階段之減免稅狀態，並作為虛擬變數納入後續實證模型分析。 本研究利用相關變數之時間序列資料來探討租稅優惠對我國外人直接投資與國內私人投資之互動變化關係。研究步驟有三，首先，針對個別變數進行單根檢定，藉以確認變數的屬性，了解時間序列資料是否為衡定後，再利用Johansen共整合檢定法來估計和檢定多個變數，確認各變數間是否存在共整合關係後，以誤差修正模型來說明各變數間關係與整個變數脫離均衡關係後之動態調整情形。 實證結果顯示，就長期趨勢而言，我國實施之租稅優惠措施對吸引外人直接投資呈現負向且顯著之不良影響，另長期而言，租稅優惠誘因對刺激我國國內投資之變化確有顯著且正面助益，但影響效果之幅度不大。因此，本研究建議政府與其提供效果不明確之租稅誘因，不如致力於針對國家自身不完善的基礎建設或不穩定的總體經濟環境進行改善。Tax incentives have been in existence in Taiwan since 1950, and they are still very much on the agenda of the government. There is no agreement about the efficacy of incentives. Indeed there have been doubts about whether incentives have any effect on the economy since the 1950s. This has made some economists wonder why incentives are so popular despite the fact that their effects are either slight or unknow. This study conducts an empirical investigation of the impact of tax incentives on investment in Taiwan. We constructed two indexs of tax incentives which track the different types of incentives embarked upon by the government, and these indexes are then included in both foreign direct investment and private investment equations. Our testing procedure involves three steps. The first step involves tasting for the properties of the variables by conducting unit root teste. The second step involves testing for the long-run relationship between the variables using Johansen cointegration tests. And the third step involves estimating the long-run parameters and associated loading factors. The empirical results shows a significant negative impact of tax incentives on FDI, and a significant positive impact of tax incentives on private investment but the impact is slight. We suggest that rather than focusing on tax incentives, the country should concentrate on removing the factors that discourage investors such as poor infrastructural and institutions or macroeconomic instability