We estimate the causal effects of a tax incentive for specific productivity-enhancing equipment introduced in 2014 for Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using firm-level panel data, we find, first, that the introduction of the tax incentive did not on average increase the capital investment rate of SMEs eligible for the tax incentive possibly due to the small number of firms using the incentive. Second, despite this finding, the firms using the tax incentive increased their capital investment rate and improved labor productivity more than the comparable firms holding the stated capital close to but more than the criterion of SMEs did. Third, firms using the tax incentive did not increase capital intensity. Fourth, more financially constrained firms using the tax incentive increased their capital investment rate to a greater degree. These results show that the use of the tax incentive mitigates financial constraints in upgrading capital.

我们估算了 2014 年针对日本中小企业 (SME) 推出的针对特定生产力提升设备的税收激励措施的因果效应。使用企业层面的面板数据，我们发现，首先，税收激励的引入并没有平均提高符合税收激励条件的中小企业的资本投资率，这可能是因为使用该激励的企业数量较少。其次，尽管有这一发现，使用税收激励的公司比持有接近但超过中小企业标准的既定资本的可比公司增加了资本投资率并提高了劳动生产率。第三，使用税收激励的企业并没有增加资本密集度。第四，更多财务受限的公司使用税收优惠在更大程度上提高了它们的资本投资率。这些结果表明，税收激励的使用减轻了资本升级的财务约束。