Study on the impact mechanism of the environmental protection Fee-to-Tax reform and corporate dual synergy in the energy industry

WANG Xiaopeng; ZHANG Yu

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-9605.2025.12.024

Abstract：The synergistic digitalization-greening transformation is essential for cultivating new quality productive forces and achieving high-quality development.Using data from A-share listed energy companies(2012-2023),this study employs a difference-in-differences model to examine the effects of China's 2018 environmental fee-to-tax reform on enterprises'synergistic transformation.The findings reveal that the policy significantly promotes synergistic transformation across all energy enterprises.Mechanism analysis shows that financing constraints play a masking role—while the policy promotes transformation,it simultaneously exacerbates financing constraints through increased compliance costs,partially offsetting positive effects.Information disclosure quality positively moderates the relationship,with high-quality disclosure significantly enhancing policy effectiveness.Heterogeneity analysis reveals structural differences.By enterprise type,the policy increases renewable energy enterprises' synergistic transformation by 4.2％more than traditional energy enterprises.Regionally,effects are significant only in eastern regions,reflecting unbalanced regional development.By ownership,effects are stronger for non-state-owned enterprises,indicating marketization's influence on policy sensitivity.This study expands environmental policy research from a synergistic digitalization-greening perspective,identifies financing constraints'masking effects and information disclosure's moderating role,and provides empirical evidence for differentiated policymaking.The findings offer important implications for optimizing environmental tax design and promoting enterprises'synergistic transformation.