The Guangdong Local Taxation Bureau will attach greater importance to the establishment of a long-term mechanism for sustained taxation growth, the establishment of a platform for high-efficiency and low-cost taxation administration, improvement of service, development of human resources, and a good equation between taxation and payment in the 11th Five-Year Guidelines (2006-10), a senior local official said.

China now adopts a dual taxation system, with local taxation contributing to local fiscal expenditures and state taxation going into the state coffers. At a recent conference on the province's local taxation, Wu Shengwen, director of the provincial local taxation bureau, urged the local taxation departments in the province to tap new growth areas.

He also called for digital and scientific administration of taxation for the improvement of administration efficiency, tax collection efficiency and reduction of taxation cost among the local taxation departments across the province.

Besides, he said, the provincial local taxation bureau will continue to abide by the principle of collecting taxes according to laws and improve services for taxpayers by honing the service awareness of the taxation staff and redoubling efforts to publicize taxation policies.

"Good taxation work boils down to quality staff," he said. "Heads of taxation bureaus at different levels should do more for improving the quality of taxation staff."

Wu said that the bureau would set up a more effective incentive mechanism to motivate taxation staff and also offer training programs.

He said that harmonious relations between tax collectors and taxpayers are very important for the formation of a harmonious society.

Official statistics indicate that Guangdong has occupied a top position in the nation's local taxation sector for 12 years consecutively and the province has outstanding advantages in taxation, management systems, information technology development, taxation administration and supervision, and taxation service.

The tax revenues collected by the provincial local taxation bureau stood at 135.13 billion yuan (US$16.66 billion) in 2005, an increase of 17 percent from 2004.

The Pearl River Delta cities contributed a handsome share of the total taxes levied last year.

Social pensions collected in the province (excluding Shenzhen) were worth 47.8 billion yuan (US$5.89 billion) in 2005, up 18.8 percent from a year ago.

Statistics from the State Administration of Taxation show that Guangdong's local taxation had surpassed 400 billion yuan (US$49.32 billion) by late 2005, followed by Shanghai, Jiangsu, Beijing, Zhejiang, Shandong, Liaoning and Tianjin. Director Wu said, "We are confident in making new headway in the 11th Five-Year Guidelines period."

In another development, Guangdong Local Taxation Academy recently joined hands with the finance and taxation research institute of Jinan University to set up a local taxation research center in Guangzhou.

The center aims to become an important channel for innovative taxation theory for the academy as well as a research platform for the university.

About the bureau

Founded in 1994, the Guangdong Local Taxation Bureau is under the dual leadership of both the provincial government of Guangdong and the State Administration of Taxation.

Being a functional department of the provincial government, the bureau is primarily responsible for the administration and collection of 15 taxes including business tax, enterprise income tax, foreign-invested enterprise income tax in the cities of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Dongguan, land appreciation tax and stamp taxes, as well as social pension, education surcharge, and construction fee for cultural facilities.     

(China Daily April 19, 2006)