关键词: 环保税费负担, 企业避税, 融资约束, 政治成本

Abstract: The imposition of environmental taxes may intensify a companys financing constraints，leading to its engagement in tax avoidance activities （financing constraints hypothesis），or elevate the political costs for businesses，restricting their tax avoidance behavior （ political cost hypothesis） Taking Chinas Ashare listed companies as samples，this paper reveals that the environmental tax burden significantly reduces a companys tax avoidance level，lending overall support to the political cost hypothesis Mechanism analysis highlights government oversight and societal scrutiny as two crucial mechanisms through which the environmental tax burden incents a companys motivation for tax avoidance Heterogeneity results reveal that the effects are more significant for stateowned companies，and for companies in industries with less pollution and in regions with higher fiscal pressure and lower environmental tax collection standards Further studies indicate that the inhibitory effect of the environmental tax burden on corporate tax avoidance limits a companys R&D investment but positively influences its market value

Key words: environmental tax burden, corporate tax avoidance, financing constraints, political costs