Do political connections pay? Evidence of corporate payroll tax planning in Chinese firms

Drawing on a dataset of listed Chinese firms, our study reveals a notable reduction in effective payroll tax rates for politically connected firms. Using China's anti-corruption campaign as an exogenous shock, our difference-in-differences (DID) analysis indicates a significant increase in the effective payroll tax rates of politically connected firms after the campaign. Well-developed legal institutions, social security fund holdings, and high-quality external audits mitigate the effect of political connections on a firm's effective payroll tax rates. These results are instrumental in regulating firms' payroll tax payments from an informal institutional perspective.