Research On Carbon Tax System Design Of China From The Perspective Of Social Equity

Faced with the grim situation of increasing carbon dioxide emissions,the proposal of the "double carbon" goal has added new constraints to China’s economic and social development,requiring China to formulate effective carbon emission reduction policies to improve environmental quality and promote the transformation of the economy to a low-carbon model.As a widely covered and flexibly designed tax tool,the carbon tax system is considered an effective means to achieve carbon emission reduction.However,even with increasing attention from the international community,countries are still very cautious when introducing carbon taxes,mainly because imposing carbon taxes will have a certain negative impact on social equity and economic growth.Based on the realistic background of large income gap and prominent development imbalance in China,this paper studies the possible risks of carbon tax from the perspective of social equity,and constructs a carbon tax system that conforms to China’s development situation.Firstly,this article reviews the relevant literature on carbon tax,defines the concepts of carbon tax and social equity,and lays the foundation for theoretical mechanism analysis and empirical measurement based on Pigou tax,polluter pays principle,dual dividend theory,and social equity theory.Secondly,it elaborates on the mechanism of carbon tax affecting social equity,and characterizes its potential social equity risks into three types of entities and two levels.That is,imposing carbon tax will not only change the distribution results of different resident groups,but also adjust the distribution situation of various regions and industries.Moreover,this allocation includes two levels: carbon tax benefit sharing and carbon tax burden sharing.On this basis,combined with the Cobb Douglas production function,a panel data model for 30provinces(autonomous regions,municipalities)in China is constructed to explore the changes in factor prices caused by carbon tax collection,in order to analyze the overall tax benefit sharing equity effect.At the same time,three types of entities are classified according to income or output levels,and the distribution of tax burden caused by commodity price changes after the introduction of carbon tax is estimated.The results show that at the level of tax benefit sharing,carbon tax will increase the output efficiency of capital elements,increase the relative price of capital,and is not conducive to low-income residents with a higher proportion of labor remuneration.In addition,imposing a carbon tax will also reduce the efficiency of energy factor output,and regions and industries with high energy dependence will be more affected;At the level of tax burden sharing,the measurement results show that the tax burden of carbon tax presents a certain "regressive" nature,whether among regions,industries,or urban and rural residents.Less developed regions,high-energy consuming industries,and lowincome residents bear a higher level of tax burden.Therefore,it is necessary to design China’s carbon tax system from the perspective of social equity.Combining international experience in carbon tax design to promote social equity,this article constructs a carbon tax system in China from three aspects:prerequisite preparation,substantive elements,and procedural rules,with a view to reducing the negative impact of carbon tax on social equity through scientific and reasonable tax system design.Finally,put forward relevant suggestions for the smooth implementation of the carbon tax system,including doing a good job in promoting the carbon tax,coordinating the relationship between the carbon tax and other policy tools,and strengthening the construction of carbon tax collection and management.