中国的税制改革(下)

Tax Policy and Tax Reform in the People's Republic of China

四、扩大地方政府的财政自主权 在中国，相当一部分公共服务都是由地方政府提供的。中国的地方政府分成以下四级：省、市、县／区、乡镇。这些地方政府负责提供如卫生、教育、退休金、失业保险和最低生活保障等重要的公共服务。除此之外，这些地方政府还要负责大部分的城市基础设施（例如交通和改善环境）投资（World Bank，2012）。

This paper compares the tax system in China with the tax system in OECD countries and the tax reforms China and OECD countries have implemented in the past. The analysis focuses on those taxes and tax issues which are currently on China＇s reform agenda, including the consumption taxes （especially the integration of the ＂business tax＂ into the VAT）, environmentally-related taxes, the personal income tax, fiscal relations between the central and sub-central levels of government and property taxes. The paper provides a （preliminary） analysis of the tax-to-GDP ratio and the tax mix in China as well as the average and marginal tax wedge on labour income, by applying the OECD＇s Revenue Statistics and Taxing Wages methodology. Although a country＇s culture, traditions and legal system play an important part in shaping its tax regime and how it can be reformed, the paper also reviews the general design issues on how to make the tax system in China more growth-friendly, simple and transparent, less distortive and fairer. The paper contains a detailed discussion and evaluation of each tax and considers possible directions for future tax reform in China.