Tax Incentives for Small and Medium–Sized Enterprises: A Systematic Literature Review

ABSTRACT This paper presents a PRISMA‐guided systematic literature review of 91 studies analyzing tax incentives for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and their stakeholders. Adopting an SME‐specific, instrument‐agnostic perspective, spanning both firm‐side and investor‐side incentives across multiple tax instruments, we identify three patterns. First, research is heavily concentrated on R second, evaluation practices remain fragmented and largely input focused; third, incentive effects vary with firm resources and institutional context. Comparing these patterns with policy data, this review argues that the existing empirical literature only partially maps the SME policy mix. Drawing on institutional theory and the resource‐based view (RBV), the review highlights how fiscal and administrative capacity shapes the sophistication of incentive design and evaluation. Policy implications include improving targeting of constrained SMEs, strengthening data infrastructures and evaluation standards, and the integration of tax incentives with complementary supports.