Qiu Xiaohua, Deputy director with the State Statistic Bureau lately noted, that 19.7 percent tax growth will not dampen the enthusiasm of domestic enterprises and individuals for investment. On the contrary, the rapid growth in tax revenue is the result of a continuous economic development, improvement in enterprise effects, imports & exports growth as well as increase in citizens' income.
Qiu Xiaohua held that the rapid tax-revenue growth is closely interrelated with the fast, sustained and healthy development of the Chinese economy. The 7-odd percent of economic growth rate in last four years has served as the most solid material base for the tax-revenue growth. As learned, since 1994 China has maintained an annual rate of over 20 percent in tax-revenue growth. Last year, the national tax-revenue (excluding customs duty and agricultural tax) rose by 19.7 percent. In the same year, Chinese enterprises harvested 8.1 percent economic returns, showing an evident momentum for constant improvement. Therefore, the rapid increase in returns has provided a favorable tax source for tax-revenue growth.
Although the world economy underwent an overall slump last year, China has yet reaped a 7.5-percent increase in annual gross volume in imports & exports, which contributed to increase in foreign trade tariff. Besides, in the past two years the Chinese government has successively enhanced the income of the low and medium stratum including civil servants and staff in public institutions by a big margin, which has laid a new taxation base for augment of individual income tax. As revealed, income of urban residents has in recent two years grown by over 7 percent, with last year's reaching eight percent.
In addition, with measures and technological contents improved for the inquisition of taxes, some drained-away tax sources have been reclaimed from tax dodging or evasion. Qiu Xiaohua pointed out China has in recent years cut down tax rate in some fields instead of raising it. The sustainable growth in tax revenue is the very presentation of the macro-economy as a whole in China. In the meantime, Qiu Xiaohua suggested that the government will in view of economic operation adopt measures for tax-reduction in some high sci-tech or special trades that need support in future.
(People?s Daily March 5, 2003)
