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The trial reform of rural taxes and administrative charges
reduced the burden on farmers by over 30 percent on average in
2003, said Minister of Finance Jin Renqing at the Second Session of
the Tenth National People's Congress Saturday.
The central government earmarked a total of 30.5 billion yuan in
2003 to support the above reform, the minister said in a report on
the implementation of the central and local budgets for 2003 and on
the draft central and local budgets for 2004.
Thanks to the government effort to accelerate the pace of
repealing the tax on special agricultural products on a trial
basis, the tax was by and large rescinded in a dozen provinces and
municipalities directly under the central government, including
Beijing, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Sichuan,
Henan, Shanghai and Tianjin.
The trial of providing subsidies directly to grain producers was
implemented in the provinces of Anhui, Jilin, Hunan, Hubei, Henan,
Liaoning, Hebei and Jiangxi and in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region. The trial promoted the reform of grain enterprises, and
also won the heartfelt support of farmers in trial areas and
boosted their enthusiasm for grain production, said the
minister.
The government also allocated 10.8 billion yuan in 2003 to help
various localities combat natural disasters, provide disaster
relief and fund reconstruction after disasters, and 167 million
people in disaster-afflicted areas received timely government
relief, he said.
In 2003, the central government allocated 44 billion yuan, a
year-on-year increase of 13.9 percent, to support progress in
agricultural science and technology, develop the quality and safety
system for agricultural products, fund comprehensive agricultural
development and promote development-oriented programs for
alleviating rural poverty.
Expenditures on education, health and culture was also raised by
6.7 billion yuan, mainly going to rural areas to promote the
development of social undertakings there, said Jin.
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2004)
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