Adjustment on taxation policy will be made after China's WTO entry, says Jin Renqing, director of State General Taxation Administration (SGTA), stressing that it will be done on the basis of "correct assessment of the situation" and therefore will not affect China's opening up policy.
Jin made the remark at the ongoing 12th Congress on World Productive Forces opened on November 6 in Hong Kong, saying that the WTO impact is a major consideration in China's future policy making, and taxation is without exception.
China's WTO membership will trigger off great changes and bring challenges to many trades. The tasks of tax collection organs are to revise policies that run against WTO rules and carry out other reforms, such as enlarge tax base and adjust tax rates.
Many factors will be taken into consideration when adjusting tax policies, such as west region development and strategies for revitalizing the nation through science and education and sustainable development. Jin implies that bigger adjustment will have to be made on consumption tax according to government needs, including transforming administrative fees into taxes.
A "steady, fair and transparent" tax environment must be formed after China's WTO entry, Jin notes, and law enforcement must be carried out in an open and fair way.
(People's Daily November 8, 2001)
