The Employment Effect of Digital Tax Administration: Promoting or Suppressing?

This paper uses the data of A-share manufacturing listed companies in China from 2009 to 2016 to explore the impact of China's “Golden Tax Phase III” project on the labor employment level of manufacturing enterprises from the perspective of labor demand. Research has found that digital tax administration has curbed the labor employment level of enterprises. Mechanism tests show that digital tax administration increases the actual tax burden on businesses, consistent with the tax channel. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this inhibitory effect is more significant in state-owned enterprises, enterprises with high financing constraints, smaller operations and enterprises in regions with high fiscal pressure. In addition, digital tax administration has a greater negative impact on low-education and production-oriented employees in enterprises. This study evaluated the employment effect of digitalization in tax administration, providing a reference for strengthening the construction of digital government and stabilizing the operation of the labor market.