Impact of tax reduction policies on consumer purchase of new automobiles : an analytical investigation with real data-based experiments

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Naval Research Logistics (NRL)

Publication Date

12-1-2014

Volume

61

Issue

8

First Page

577

Last Page

598

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Keywords

Accounting-operations interface, tax reduction policy, supply chain management

Abstract

We investigate and compare the impact of the tax reduction policies implemented in the United States and China to stimulate consumer purchase of new automobiles and improve manufacturers' profits. The U.S. policy provides each qualifying consumer with a federal income tax deduction on state and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase price (up to a cutoff level), whereas the Chinese policy reduces the vehicle sales tax rate for consumers. We observe that these policy designs are consistent with the tax management system and the economic environment in the respective country. We analytically determine the effects of the two tax reduction policies on the automobile sales and the manufacturer's and the retailer's profits. Numerical examples are then used to provide insights on the importance of certain factors that influence the effects of the two policies. Finally, a numerical experiment with sensitivity analysis based on real data is conducted to compare the merits and characteristics of the two policies under comparable conditions. We find that the U.S. policy is better than the Chinese policy in stimulating the sales of high-end automobiles, whereas the Chinese policy is better than the U.S. policy in improving the sales of low-end automobiles. The U.S. policy is slightly more effective in increasing the profitability of the automobile supply chain; but, in general, the Chinese policy is more cost effective. The methodology developed herein can be used to evaluate other tax reduction policies such as those related to the purchase of energy-saving vehicles and to serve as a decision model to guide the choice of alternative tax reduction policies.

DOI

10.1002/nav.21604

E-ISSN

15206750

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Chan, K. H., Leng, M., & Liang, L. (2014). Impact of tax reduction policies on consumer purchase of new automobiles: An analytical investigation with real data-based experiments. Naval Research Logistics (NRL), 61(8), 577-598. doi: 10.1002/nav.21604

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