Beijing residents making more than RMB100,000 (US$12,048) yuan a year are required to declare how much they pay for tax on the Internet starting from October, Beijing Youth Daily quoted the Beijing Local Tax Bureau as saying on Monday.
According to Wang Jiping, chief of Beijing Local Tax Bureau, the move aims to avoid tax-dodging. Personal income tax is currently deducted by the company in which he or she serves. The Bureau has no record of any individual income.
With the implementation of the new regulation, professionals with many sources of income, such as professors, accountants and lawyers, will also have to declare their income on the Internet. The Beijing official said a new taxation software is being developed taking into account security concerns.
Local statistics show there are approximately 30,000 individuals who earn more than RMB100,000 yuan annually in Beijing, but not everyone of them are handing in tax.
China is engaged in a tough battle to improve its tax revenues, amid a ballooning budget deficit.
(China Daily July 16, 2002)
