TITLE:
The Impact of Tax Incentives on R&D Investment and Corporate Competitiveness: A Case Study of CATL
AUTHORS:
Yanyun Yang, Jian Xue
KEYWORDS:
Tax Incentives, R&D Investment, Corporate Competitiveness, Case Study Method
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
20,
2026
ABSTRACT: In recent years, guided by the national “dual carbon” strategic goals, the State Taxation Administration and the Ministry of Finance have introduced a series of tax incentive policies. These measures, including continuously increasing deduction ratios and expanding the scope of applicable industries, aim to encourage high-tech enterprises to conduct independent R&D and innovation, thereby promoting high-quality industrial development. Such policies effectively reduce the tax burden and R&D costs of enterprises, directly improve net profit and cash flow levels, and thereby enhance their profitability and core competitiveness, injecting strong momentum into the sustained improvement of financial performance. This paper selects Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL, stock code: 300750), a global leader in the power battery industry, as the research object. Adopting a case study approach, it deeply explores the mechanism and impact of tax incentives on innovation investment and corporate competitiveness. Based on the analysis of its financial data from 2018 to 2024, the study finds that tax incentives increase the company’s current net profit and operating cash flow by reducing the tax burden and improving cash flow, effectively lowering the effective tax rate. Furthermore, the R&D expense super-deduction policy directly reduces the actual cost per unit of R&D investment, ensuring the continuity and high intensity of the company’s R&D investment, which provides key support for its long-term value creation. The conclusions indicate that tax incentives can effectively stimulate corporate innovation and further enhance market competitiveness. This offers a reference for other high-tech enterprises to utilize policies to achieve high-quality development, while also providing useful micro-level evidence for government departments to optimize and improve industrial tax policies.