Speculative Culture And Corporate Tax Avoidance

In Chinese history,there have been a large number of excellent commercial cultures,such as "righteousness before profit" and "honesty and trustworthiness",but at the same time,there are also speculative cultures such as "acting according to the situation" and "eager for quick success and instant benefits".Speculative culture,as a negative culture,reflects the speculative tendencies within the region.In the academic community,there is still controversy over whether speculative culture is a "stumbling block" or a "lubricant" for enterprise development.Some scholars believe that speculative culture can improve the innovation ability of enterprises,but others believe that speculative culture can increase the risk of stock price collapse,leading to more cost stickiness and other issues.This article is based on the "stumbling block" effect of speculative culture and upholds the view that speculative culture has a negative impact on the development of enterprises to some extent.Given that the psychological characteristics of Chinese lottery enthusiasts,such as being small and broad,blindly optimistic,and daring to take risks,are closely aligned with the adventurous spirit and speculative psychology of decision-makers.Based on the lottery sales situation in various regions of China,this study explores the impact and mechanism of speculative culture on corporate tax avoidance behavior,and reveals the "black box" between speculative atmosphere and corporate decision-making in regional culture.The speculative culture in this article is measured by the per capita lottery sales in the region.At the same time,based on the sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2020,the correlation and impact mechanism between speculative culture and tax avoidance behavior in the region were examined.The results of theoretical analysis and empirical testing indicate that:(1)speculative culture has a significant promoting effect on corporate tax avoidance,that is,the stronger the speculative culture in the region,the higher the degree of corporate tax avoidance;(2)Speculative culture affects individuals’ adventurous spirit and speculative psychology,causing enterprises to face higher levels of risk-taking behavior,leading to enterprises alleviating resource squeeze effects through tax avoidance.At the same time,speculative culture will exacerbate individuals’ speculative psychology,worsen the agency problem within the enterprise,and lead managers to use tax avoidance to cover up their selfish behavior;(3)Further analysis reveals that overconfident managers underestimate the risk of tax avoidance and overestimate their own abilities.Therefore,the trait of overconfident managers exacerbates the positive correlation between speculative culture and corporate tax avoidance;The increase in tax collection and management intensity has increased the transparency of company information,thereby suppressing the promoting effect of speculative culture on corporate tax avoidance;Good corporate governance can alleviate the agency problem within enterprises and constrain the promoting effect of speculative culture on tax avoidance;The rule of law environment in a region can guide speculative culture in the positive direction,suppress tax avoidance behavior in the reverse,and thus regulate the radical tax avoidance intensified by speculative culture.The research results reveal the impact of speculative culture,an informal system,on the micro real economy,which is of great significance for improving corporate governance and guiding the healthy and orderly development of the capital market.