中国国民收入分配格局的现状与国际比较

近年来,中国国民收入分配格局已经基本趋向稳定,企业、政府和居民部门的收入份额之比基本维持在25∶15∶60左右。这一结果表明,自20世纪90年代中期开始,一直持续到2008年左右的居民部门收入份额下降的趋势已基本得到缓解。本文着重展示改革开放以来中国1978-2016年各部门间初次收入分配格局的变化趋势,并与OECD成员国进行了对比分析,发现2016年中国居民部门收入份额低于发达国家约8.66个百分点,而金融企业部门高出约3.51个百分点,非金融企业部门高出约3.80个百分点。建议进一步降低金融部门和非金融企业部门中垄断行业收入份额,并适当降低政府部门的收入份额,以提升居民部门收入份额。

个人所得税收入再分配效应的国际比较

个人所得税是调节收入再分配的重要工具。本文运用2013年中国家庭收入调查数据,通过测算、分解中国个人所得税的RE指数(再分配效应指数),并同其他国家对比后发现:中国的个人所得税虽然具有缩小收入差距的功能,但其效果不仅不及发达国家,亦不及很多发展中国家;平均有效税率偏低是导致中国个人所得税收入再分配效应微弱的主要原因。适当提高平均有效税率能有效提高中国个人所得税的收入再分配效应,缩小同其他国家之间的差距。2018年以来的一些改革措施,如实施的综合与分类相结合个人所得税改革将有利于提高个人所得税的平均有效税率和收入再分配效应。未来可以通过扩大我国个人所得税综合所得范围,优化调整税率结构,降低基本减除费用标准的调整频率,并加强对高收入高净值人群的税收征管,从而进一步提高个人所得税的平均有效税率,增强个人所得税的收入再分配效应。

Guest Editors’ Introduction

China has entered a new stage of social and economic development,having eliminated absolute poverty by the end of 2020.Common prosperity will be a new goal in this new development stage.There are domestic and international reasons for China to promote common prosperity as a new development goal.Domestically,the reform and opening-up policies over the past 40 years have promoted rapid economic growth and a considerable improvement in Chinese living standards but the problem of unbalanced development has not been solved effectively.This problem is manifested in all aspects of social and economic development,including excessive income inequality and unfair income distribution,regional disparities,a significantly large urban-rural gap,and unequal access to basic public services among different population groups.

Focus shift needed:From development-oriented to social security-based poverty alleviation in rural China

Over the past 40-plus years since its reform and opening up,China has made remarkable achievements in poverty reduction.It accomplished the task of eradicating absolute poverty at the end of 2020 as scheduled,which is of great significance to both China and the world.Using the China Household Income Project(CHIP)survey data from 2002 to 2018,this paper studies the characteristics of the rural poverty-stricken population and estimates the poverty reduction effect of China’s social security which transfers income to the poor.We find that the transferred income targeting the poor population can effectively reduce rural poverty.In the post-2020 era,poverty reduction in China has shifted its focus from eliminating absolute poverty to alleviating relative poverty.Since the majority of the remaining relatively impoverished people in China lack the necessary ability to work,they can hardly throw off poverty through development-oriented poverty alleviation programmes.Therefore,it is necessary to shift the focus of poverty reduction in rural China from development-oriented policies to social security-based policies,which is essential to alleviate relative poverty in the new stage and prevent people from slipping back to .

Introduction

Over the past 40-plus years,China has steadily improved the living standards of its rural people and accomplished remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation.Nearly 100 million of the rural poor have been taken out of poverty since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,measured by an official standard.China’s efforts have been a great contribution to global poverty reduction and the realisation of the UN poverty reduction goal by 2030,and provided the Chinese experience for the international society in fighting against poverty.

Editorial

Income inequality is a complex issue that affects many aspects of our society and is influenced by a variety of factors.The study of income inequality involves diverse perspectives.For instance,economists try to measure inequality by age,gender,education and geographic attributes using methodologies of labour economics,or discuss the redistributive role of public policies from the perspective of public finance.In sociology,researchers look at impacts of inequality on people’s happiness,social cohesion and crime rates while political scientists attempt to understand the correlation between income distribution and the distribution of power.Due to its complexity and its potential to adversely affect people,income inequality has become an important research subject in multiple disciplines.

A Study on the Income Redistribution Effect of China’s 2018 Personal Income Tax Reform

Personal income tax is an important redistribution tool,its redistribution effect has been concerned by all walks of life.Using CHIP2018,this paper calculates and analyzes the income redistribution effect of the personal income tax reform plan in 2018,and fi nds that:The comprehensive taxation can raise the average tax rate,progressivity and redistribution effect of personal income tax;The rise of the standard of basic deduction,six special additional deductions,and the change of tax rate structure raise the progressiveness of personal income tax,but reduce the average tax rate and thus weaken the income redistribution effect of personal income tax;The comprehensive income tax will enhance the impact of basic deduction of expenses,six special additional deductions and the change of tax rate structure on the redistribution effect of individual income tax income;Under the joint action of the reform measures,the progressivity of individual income tax has risen as a whole,but the average tax rate of individual income tax and redistribution index have shown a sharp decline,both of which decreased by more than 50%.Using the household survey data of the year of reform,this paper comprehensively investigates the income redistribution effect of the personal income tax reform,which enriches the research on the redistribution effect of the new round of personal income tax reform.