基层财政转型的合法性困境及其化解

On the Problem in the Legitimacy of Transition of Grass-roots Finance and Its Resolutions

财政是一级政府的基础,是政府运行的核心环节。基层财政转型要处理好财政能力和财政合法性之间的关系。财政能力的增长并不必然带来财政合法性的增强,反而有可能会损害其合法性,必须要将财政合法性建设作为一个重要问题凸显出来。学界主流认识到取消农业税并不是解决基层财政合法性困境的最好办法,而主张通过现代预算制度来重建基层财政的合法性,偏重技术性、程序性改革。中国语境内的现代预算制度是一种行政主导的技术治理模式,人民群众被排除在外。今后的改革必须强化群众的预算参与,以群众路线取代技术路线,才能从根本上完成基层财政的合法性重建。

As a basis of government, finance is the core of running the government. The restructuring of grass-roots finance should properly handle the relationship between the financial capacity and the fiscal legitimacy. The growth of fiscal capacity doesn＇ t necessarily bring an enhanced fiscal legitimacy; on the contrm＇y, the grass-roots fiscal legitimacy may be damaged. Therefore, the fiscal legitimacy becomes more and more important. Mainstream scholars recognize that abolishing agricultural tax isn＇t the best way to address the problem of grass-roots fiscal legitimacy. They advocate that the grass-roots fiscal legitimacy should be restructured by modern financial budget system. Therefore they prefer technical reforms and procedural reforms. Modem budget system is an administrative-led model of technological governance excluding the people in China. Future reforms must strengthen the masses ＇participation in the budget and replace the technological line with the mass line in order to achieve fundamentally the restructuring of grass-roots fiscal legitimacy.