On June 4, the “Notice on the Transfer of the Four Government Non-tax Revenues from the Transfer of State-owned Land Use Rights, Mineral Resources Special Income, Sea Area Use Funds, and Non-resident Island Use Funds to the Taxation Department for Collection of Relevant Issues” (Financial Comprehensive [2021] ] No. 19) caused heated discussions as soon as it was announced.
The income from the transfer of state-owned land use rights and the collection by taxation authorities involved in the “Notice” are the two key points of concern. In fact, the transfer of the four government non-tax revenues to the taxation department is part of the deepening of the reform of the tax collection and management system. The issuance of the “Notice” is only to implement the reform plan without any surprises.
Among the four non-tax revenues, the common people are most concerned about the income from the transfer of state-owned land use rights (hereinafter referred to as “land revenue”). Will land income be placed under the taxation department for collection, will this increase the burden on the payer? In fact, the transfer of non-tax income to the tax department does not involve the adjustment of the specific system of non-tax income. That is to say, how to pay the original tax, and how to pay after the transfer. The transfer will not increase the burden on the payer, but just pay the fee. The department that people deal with has changed.
So, why would anyone worry about a heavier burden? It is normal to have such thoughts. This reflects the public’s affirmation of taxation work from one aspect. Taxation has the characteristics of compulsory, fixed, and free form. The compulsory and fixed nature have been fully reflected in tax collection and management. The public has also accepted the notion that taxation is more serious and stricter than government non-tax revenue. It should be said that the formation of this concept is not easy. It is the result of years of deep-rooted taxation work and the achievement of the modernization of the taxation system.
In taxation, there is a distinction between nominal tax burden and actual tax burden. There are usually two reasons for the difference between the two:
First, preferential tax policies. This will make the actual tax burden lighter than the nominal tax burden, which depends on the strength of the preferential treatment. The preferential policies are within the scope of the law and are applicable to all taxpayers who meet the conditions.
Second, the tax collection rate. If tax collection and management are in place, then the amount of tax levied under the tax system is equal to the amount of tax actually levied.
In reality, due to various constraints, the result will only make the actual tax collected less than the tax payable. In the past when the conditions for tax collection and management were relatively weak, the scope of tax collection and management was limited, the methods of collection and management were relatively backward, and the actual tax burden was much lower than the nominal tax burden. In recent years, the tax collection and management system has been continuously optimized, the information technology for tax collection and management has become more and more advanced, and the actual tax burden has become more and more consistent.Near nominal tax burden, the tax collection and management efficiency of the tax department is generally higher than that of other government departments.
The taxation department collects government non-tax revenue while levying taxes, which is conducive to exerting the economies of scale of taxation, improving the efficiency of government non-tax revenue collection and management, and helping public services The construction of a type-oriented government promotes the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities.
The collection of non-tax revenue by the taxation department is part of deepening the reform of the tax system and part of deepening the reform of the party and state institutions. In 2018, the “Deepening Party and State Institutional Reform Program” issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China stated that the content of “reform the national taxation and local taxation system” is not only the merger of national and local taxes, but also the responsibilities of the merged tax agency while clarifying national and local taxes. , That is, “combine the provincial and sub-provincial national taxation and local taxation agencies, and specifically undertake various taxation and non-tax revenue collection and management responsibilities within the jurisdiction.” At that time, people were more concerned about the dispute over the collection of social insurance premiums. The answer was also given in this plan, that is, “to pay the taxation department the basic pension insurance premiums, basic medical insurance premiums, unemployment insurance premiums and other social insurance premiums. Unified collection”. This specific reform plan has been implemented.
In 2018, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the “National Taxation and Local Tax Collection and Management System Reform Plan” requirements to unify taxation, social insurance premiums, and non-tax revenue collection and management service standards , To promote the construction of a modern economic system and high-quality economic development. Adhere to the law of coordination and stability. The transfer of non-tax income to the tax department is not a simple transfer, it is a systematic project. Move the whole body by pulling a hair. The transfer of non-tax revenue collection and management responsibilities involves multiple issues such as personnel placement, fund transfer, and optimization of income management information systems. Therefore, the “National Taxation and Local Tax Collection and Management System Reform Plan” requires that non-tax revenue be reasonably determined in accordance with the principles of convenience and efficiency. The responsibilities of collection and management are transferred to the scope of the taxation department, and the non-tax revenue items that are reserved and suitable for transfer in accordance with the law are transferred to a batch of batches and gradually promoted.
It is a general trend to collect tax revenue and non-tax revenue by the unified revenue department of the government. The transfer of the four non-tax revenue to the tax department for collection follows this trend. In the implementation of the “mature batch transfer batch, gradually advance” the spirit of the “National Taxation and Land Tax Collection and Management System Reform Plan”. The transfer may encounter difficulties of one kind or another. Therefore, this transfer adopts a pilot scheme and then a full implementation in order to accumulate experience and proceed smoothly.
The tax department’s collection of income from the transfer of state-owned land use rights must be more restrictive, and some of the advantages of government revenue collection and management formed by the tax department in the tax collection process are: Incomparable to other government departments, in this way, the payment of land income will be moreTimely and adequately, the same is true for other government non-tax revenues. If the original delay in paying non-tax income is regarded as the “welfare” of the contributor, then this so-called “welfare” will indeed be lost after the transfer. If we want to say that this increases the burden on payers, it is true, but this is the inherent requirement for fair treatment of taxpayers and payers.
The “Opinions on Further Deepening the Reform of Tax Collection and Administration” issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council in 2021 even put forward that “by 2025, deepen the reform of the tax collection and management system” Significant results have been achieved, a powerful smart taxation system has been basically built, a domestic first-class intelligent administrative application system has been formed, and tax enforcement, service, and supervision capabilities have been improved in all respects.” The series of reforms and construction measures adopted will significantly increase taxation. The level of collection and management has significantly improved the collection and management efficiency of tax revenue and non-tax revenue. Taxation departments collect more types of non-tax revenue, which means that the efficiency of government revenue collection and management is improved, and it means that the level of government governance modernization is further improved.
Some people link the transfer of the four non-tax revenues, including income from the transfer of state-owned land use rights, to the taxation department with the strengthening of the real estate market regulation measures. There must be bias Place. In fact, as long as you understand the tax collection and management system reform plan and have a full understanding of the general trend of government revenue collection and management, you can easily understand the importance of this reform to the construction of a modern fiscal and taxation system, and understand that this is to promote the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities. An initiative. Some people associate this with budget reforms. At least from the current plan, this does not involve budget reforms, nor does it involve the adjustment of the fiscal relationship between the central and local governments.
produces such a misunderstanding, which shows that the dissemination of relevant professional knowledge still needs to work harder. There happened to be an example related to the dissemination of tax expertise.
On June 4th, Zang Tiewei, spokesperson of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, said that the third-review draft of the Hainan Free Trade Port Law is promoting the construction and development of Hainan Free Trade Port. New targeted regulations have been made to clarify the taxation arrangements for the tax refund of goods entering the Hainan Free Trade Port from the Mainland, and a provision has been added to the draft: Goods enter the Hainan Free Trade Port from the Mainland, and the collected value-added tax will be refunded in accordance with relevant regulations. ,sale tax. This is just refining the legal requirements. As a free trade port, if the mainland goods cannot be refunded, the most basic functions of the free trade port cannot be realized. As long as you understand this, you won’t be fussing about such new specific regulations. Some people mistakenly regarded this as a new “big gift package”. In fact, this “big gift package” was sent out as early as June 1, 2020 with the official announcement of the “Overall Plan for the Construction of Hainan Free Trade Port”. .
(This article is the 35th part of the exclusive column “China’s Taxation” in the Business School. The author Yang Zhiyong is a researcher at the Institute of Financial Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the deputy editor of “Financial and Trade Economics” and “Finance Think Tank”. He is the author of “New China” 70 Years of Fiscal Policy, “Light Taxes in Large Countries”, etc.)