2019 年 23 巻 p. 90-99
Hometown Tax Donation is designed to bolster regional economies by returning local products as an appreciation gift from municipal office to the tax donor, and can play a unique role in SME policy which is not reliant on subsidies, but instead, offers business an incentive to develop attractive products and yields better results when businesses and municipalities collaborate closely. To obtain an implication on SME policy, we surveyed certain gift providers on their efforts in new product development and advancement in business capabilities. The results showed that the gift market is showing the seeds for development of new products and businesses in rural areas, and is also boosting business capabilities in many cases. It implies effectiveness of step market for regional firms to develop business capabilities. Meanwhile, certain companies have earned large revenues from gifts or are overdependent on gifts. It is therefore necessary to make regional firms not too dependent on step market eyeing on their exit strategy.
