Nexus Tax Laws and Economies of Density in E‐Commerce: A Study of Amazon's Fulfillment Center Network
中文摘要
我们量化了1999年至2018年间关联税法对亚马逊配送网络投资的扭曲效应。我们重点考察亚马逊网络扩张的两个特征所发挥的作用：配送设施网络的密集化，以及向包裹分拣环节的纵向一体化。密集化降低了订单配送成本，但其代价是在成本更高的地区承担更高的设施运营成本，以及处理货件的规模经济效应降低。此外，随着网络扩张，关联税法还会产生额外的销售税负担。我们将家庭在线上和线下零售商处的支出数据与亚马逊配送网络的详细数据相结合，通过一个静态需求模型和一个动态投资模型量化这些权衡。结果表明，亚马逊的扩张显著节约了配送成本，并促进了总体规模经济的实现。我们发现，废除关联税法并代之以非歧视性税收政策，将促使该公司将其网络去中心化，从而降低配送成本。然而，非歧视性征税也会导致收入减少，因为含税价格将会上升，进而导致总体利润下降。这一利润下降，加之税收提高引致的消费者福利下降，二者合计仍小于税收收入和竞争对手利润的增加，这表明废除关联税法将提高总福利。
Abstract
We quantify the distortionary effects of nexus tax laws on Amazon's distribution network investments between 1999 and 2018. We highlight the role of two features of the expansion of Amazon's network: densification of the network of distribution facilities and vertical integration into package sortation. Densification results in a reduction in the cost of shipping orders, but comes at the expense of higher facility operating costs in more expensive areas and lower scale economies of processing shipments. Nexus laws furthermore generate additional sales tax liabilities as the network grows. Combining data on household spending across online and offline retailers with detailed data on Amazon's distribution network, we quantify these trade‐offs through a static model of demand and a dynamic model of investment. Our results suggest that Amazon's expansion led to significant shipping cost savings and facilitated the realization of aggregate economies of scale. We find that abolishing nexus tax laws in favor of a non‐discriminatory tax policy would induce the company to decentralize its network, lowering its shipping costs. Non‐discriminatory taxation would also entail lower revenue, however, as tax‐inclusive prices would rise, resulting in a fall in profit overall. This drop and the decline in consumer welfare from higher taxes together fall short of the increases in tax revenue and rival profit, suggesting that the abolishment of nexus laws would lead to an increase in total welfare.