Designing tax incentives and disincentives for urban cultural heritage conservation: a behavioral policy framework

This study proposes a systematic policy framework that leverages special tax measures to steer stakeholder behavior toward urban cultural heritage conservation. Integrating comparative policy analysis, microeconomic modeling, systematic policy framework construction and case studies from China, we design a synergistic system of tax incentives and disincentives across income, consumption, and property taxes. The framework is contextualized within China’s forthcoming Cultural Heritage Conservation Law and demonstrates how fiscal instruments can align individual economic rationality with collective conservation goals. A three-stage decision model – grounded in Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) – is introduced to assess the suitability, necessity, and balancing of tax interventions. Based on the analysis of secondary sources and policy documents, empirical case studies in Suzhou and Tianshui are used to illustrate the framework’s efficacy and limitations. The findings offer a transferable model for sustainable urban governance, with relevance for rapidly urbanizing regions globally.