Comparison of Local Taxes Between China and Foreign Countries

Author: Rong Shengling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: With the formal implementation of China's fiscal tax system reform and industrial and commercial tax system reform, the prototype of local taxation as a relatively independent and complete system has begun to take shape. It serves as a crucial foundation for local fiscal revenue and plays a pivotal role in the development of local economies and various social undertakings. China's new tax system, aligned with the principle of matching fiscal responsibilities with financial powers and integrating financial authority with financial resources, constitutes a new fiscal tax system. However, years of practice and theory have demonstrated that this system is far from being scientific, standardized, rational, or mature. It has yet to fulfill its expected role in the redistribution of national income and in promoting the establishment and improvement of the market economy system. The theory and practice of local taxation directly involve the distribution of interests and even power between the central and local governments, influencing the full mobilization of both central and local initiatives. It represents the core level in the multifaceted relationship of interests and power between the central and local authorities. The newly established central and local tax systems under the preliminary framework of the new tax system essentially reflect the economic interests between the central and local governments. The proportion of tax revenue allocation between the central and local governments not only concerns interest distribution but also power distribution—i.e., "interest division" and "power division." Therefore, further reforming and improving the local tax system, delving into the theory and practice of local taxation, particularly through comparative studies of local taxation practices in China and other countries, to gradually establish a theoretical framework for Chinese local taxation and guide its practice, holds not only significant academic and theoretical value but also substantial economic and practical significance. It undoubtedly has profound practical implications for fully mobilizing the initiatives of both central and local governments, standardizing the distribution of interests and power between the central and local authorities, and promoting the development of the socialist market economy and various social undertakings.
Guided by such preliminary understanding and theoretical motivation, the author, without pretense of modesty, attempts a comparative study of local taxation in China and other countries, aiming to spark further interest among theoretical and practical workers in this field.
Around the aforementioned topic, this book explores the following in the order and hierarchy:
Basic Tax Theory (including basic theory of local taxation);
An Overview of Several Issues in Local Taxation;
Comparative Study of Tax Theories;
Foreign Optimal Tax Theory and Its Practice;
Optimal Tax Design Theory for Developing Countries;
Comparative Study of Local Tax Systems in China and Other Countries;
Comparative Study of Local Tax Collection and Management Systems in China and Other Countries;
Research on Tax Avoidance and Anti-Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion and Anti-Tax Evasion in China and Other Countries;
Analysis of Flaws in the Current Local Taxation System in China;
Evaluation of the Operational Effects of the Fiscal Tax System and the New Tax System, Closely Related to Local Taxation;
Several Thoughts and Explorations on Reforming and Improving the Local Taxation System in China;
Improving China's Local Tax System to Promote a Shift in Economic Growth from an Extensive to an Intensive Model;
The Relationship Between Deepening China's Local Tax System Reform and Establishing a Modern Enterprise System.