财政治理:以基本公共服务均等化铸牢中华民族共同体意识

Financial Governance:Equalizing Basic Public Services to Forge a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

基本公共服务均等化是铸牢中华民族共同体意识、扎实推动共同富裕,将中华民族基本公共服务共同体具化为各族人民积极感知的重要举措和制度安排。而财政治理是实现基本公共服务均等化的基础性、支柱性和保障性手段。构建“税收收入共建—转移支付均等共享—财政支出具体共治—基本公共服务预算保障绩效考核”全链条财政治理机制。沿着“财政治理—基本公共服务均等化—扎实推动共同富裕—铸牢中华民族共同体意识”路径,需要深化财政体制改革扭转财政过度失衡状态。提升地方政府财权使地方政府的财权与事权相匹配,完善地方政府主体税种建设加强“造血”能力,改革增值税收入纵向和横向共建制度。优化转移支付共享制度和完善转移支付与财政支出共治制度。实施财政收支纵向均等标准化和横向均等标准化,逐步实现中华民族基本公共服务的充分性和均衡性,并在此过程中嵌套各族基层群众全程参与有感表达、制度考核和社会监督,以期达成铸牢中华民族共同体意识财政治理之目的。

This study emphasizes that achieving equal provision of basic public services is a prerequisite for consolidating and forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.However,findings suggest that despite improvements in the overall delivery of these services,there appear to be significant regional imbalances,notably characterized by a growing“east-west divide”where services are more satisfactory in eastern regions and comparatively limited in the west.This disparity seems to be mainly due to the lack of grassroots budgetary standards for basic public services,substantial vertical imbalances in finance,inadequate incentives in the transfer payment system,and insufficient budgetary guarantees and grassroots performance assessments for equalization in ethnic areas.As such,this article considers fiscal governance as a fundamental,pillar,and guarantee measure for realizing equalization of basic public services,and an effective means to mitigate regional imbalances and promoting universal access.As a result,this paper proposes that a mechanism of fiscal governance should be specifically constructed as a tangible and effective transmission mechanism,encompassing a comprehensive fiscal continuum across eastern,central,and western regions of China:“coordinated tax revenue generation→equal sharing of transfers→joint management of fiscal expenditures→performance appraisal of budgetary assurances for basic public services”.And following the path of“fiscal governance→equalization of basic public services→robust promotion of common prosperity→forging a strong sense of the Chinese national community”,it should endeavor to implement standardized vertical and horizontal equalization of fiscal revenue and expenditure,and then gradually elevate the level of standardization to ensure adequate and equitable basic public services across diverse ethnicities.On this basis,grass-roots budget management and systematic detailed assessment should be improved to ensure the effective supply of basic public services in ethnic areas and the emotional participation of people from all ethnic groups and regions.Additionally,value-added tax(VAT)appears to be one of the most significant contributors to the financial power of both the central and local governments in China’s tax system and even the overall fiscal revenue system.Establishing a well-designed and fair Value-Added Taxation sharing system therefore is deemed crucial for rationalizing fiscal relationships between governments at all levels and addressing fiscal vertical imbalances.It is,moreover,viewed as a vital institutional arrangement to enhance the taxation-related autonomy and power in ethnic regions.As for the incentives of transfer payments,this paper submits a collaborative governance approach of“emphasizing ethnic group participation in identifying public service needs→financial allocations and supply of public services by local governments→community oversight over service delivery standards and the behavior of local governments”.In conclusion,this paper recommends several policy initiatives to enhance fiscal governance ensuring equality in basic public services in ethnic lands.These include deepening the reform of the fiscal system to rectify excessive fiscal imbalances,refining transfer payment mechanisms,and improving the joint management of transfers and fiscal expenditures.