Green development serves as the foundation for high-quality development. As one of the most commonly used macroeconomic regulation policies, taxation is a crucial component of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, playing an irreplaceable role in accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. Based on panel data from 30 provinces (municipalities, autonomous regions) from 2011 to 2021, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of green taxation on green transformation. The study finds that green taxation can significantly promote urban green transformation, and there is significant regional heterogeneity in the impact of green taxation on urban green transformation. Mechanism tests further reveal that green taxation influences the scale of urban investment platform debt, thereby driving urban green transformation.