The curtain of speeding up the merger of national and local taxes will open taxpayers to enjoy the biggest reform dividend.

　　The curtain of the merger of national and local taxes, which has attracted much attention, will be officially opened. The reporter of the Economic Information Daily learned from authoritative sources that the reform of the collection and management system of national taxation and local taxation is in full swing, and matters related to the merger of national taxation and local taxation institutions at or below the provincial level are being stepped up. State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China and other relevant departments have organized many internal investigations, trainings and symposiums. At present, the specific timetable and road map of the reform have been basically defined. The industry pointed out that starting from the concerns of taxpayers and payers, after the merger of national and local tax agencies, the transformation of collection and management functions and the convenience of taxpayers will be two major points of view.

　　China’s current tax-sharing system originated from the tax-sharing reform in 1994. In the context of the continuous decline of central fiscal revenue in that year, the tax-sharing reform divided taxes into central tax, local tax and shared tax, aiming at increasing the proportion of central fiscal revenue and mobilizing the enthusiasm of the central and local governments. Then, after the reform of income tax sharing in 2002 and the comprehensive reform of camp reform in 2016, problems such as the inefficiency of local tax collection and management and the lack of local main taxes have become more and more prominent. In this context, a new round of national tax collection and management system reform is imperative.

　　The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’s Decision on Deepening the Reform of the Party and State Institutions, which was deliberated and adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, clearly put forward: reform the national tax and local tax collection and management system, merge the provincial and sub-provincial national tax and local tax institutions, and specifically undertake the duties of tax and non-tax revenue collection and management within the jurisdiction. After the merger of national tax and local tax agencies, the dual leadership management system with State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China as the main body and provincial (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) governments will be implemented.

　　The general direction of reform has been made clear, and implementation is also in full swing. The reporter learned from State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China that on June 1st, a symposium on the reform of tax collection and management system was held in Beijing. CPC The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) and Han Zheng, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China emphasized that we should follow the principle of combining "slimming" with "fitness", seize key links and time nodes, solidly promote the merger of tax agencies, and adjust and optimize the functions and resource allocation of tax agencies. We should conscientiously implement the dual leadership management system and establish and improve the system and mechanism with clear responsibilities, smooth operation and strong guarantee. In accordance with the principle of mature batch and transfer batch, we will carry out the transfer of social insurance premiums and non-tax revenue collection and management responsibilities in a safe and orderly manner.

　　The high-level forum held on June 1st released a positive signal of speeding up the consolidation of overseas local taxes. In fact, State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China and other relevant departments have held many internal investigations, trainings and symposiums to convey the spirit, solicit opinions and discuss details. The reporter learned that, in order to promote the reform, State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China has formed a working group on institutional reform by drawing the backbone from various departments and tax authorities at all levels. For more than two months, as the "headquarters" of tax institutional reform, it has become the norm for State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China office building, No.5 Yangfangdian West Road, Haidian District to discuss overtime day and night.

　　Experts in the industry pointed out that the reform of tax collection and management system is not only the merger of tax agencies, but also a profound change in the leadership system, operation mechanism, management mode and functions and responsibilities of tax departments, and it is also the great unity of law enforcement, service standards and business processes. It requires not only top-down design and indomitable spirit, but also the implementation of the spirit of "embroidery needle" at different levels.

　　Starting from the concerns of taxpayers and payers, the industry pointed out that after the merger of national and local tax agencies, the transformation of collection and management functions and the convenience of taxpayers are two major points of view.

　　Specifically, in this round of reform, the new tax authorities will accept the functions of non-tax revenue collection and management in many countries, such as social security.

　　"This means that non-tax revenue such as social insurance premiums will be changed from self-collection and management by various departments to unified collection and management by tax departments, which is a major change in regulating the collection and management of government non-tax revenue." Hu Yijian, a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and dean of the Institute of Public Policy and Governance, said that it will undoubtedly make non-tax revenue and social security revenue more standardized in the system and more rigid in implementation, which will not only help reduce the cost of collection and management, improve the efficiency of collection and management, but also create conditions for future tax and fee system reform, unify the government revenue system, standardize the income distribution order, and consolidate the modernization foundation of state governance.

　　It is reported that there are 1.088 billion cardholders in China by the end of 2017. "China’s non-tax revenue accounts for about half of the government’s revenue. After this transfer, the tax collection task of tax agencies will increase by 100%." Hu Yijian said.

　　It is noteworthy that taxpayers are undoubtedly the biggest beneficiaries in the reform of the national tax collection and management system. The merger of national tax and local tax agencies has fundamentally solved the problem of "running at both ends" and "checking at both ends", effectively safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of taxpayers and payers, continuously reduced the burden of tax collection and payment, and promoted the optimization of the business environment.

　　"The integration of national and local taxes is not simply a matter of joining hands, but a win-win situation for both parties to reduce costs and increase efficiency by reducing institutional transaction costs." Yang Zhiyong, a researcher at China Institute of Finance and Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that this is not only an urgent need to deepen reform, but also carries higher expectations of taxpayers.

　　　　In addition, "the merger of national and local taxes will have a far-reaching impact on the local economy and local government behavior in China in the future." Fan Zijun, a professor of public school of economics and management at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, pointed out that in the long run, the combination of national and local taxes is conducive to the formation of a standardized and efficient tax system. After the merger of national and local taxes, the vertical management system will largely avoid the problem of low local tax collection rate. The increase of the collection rate will narrow the difference between the statutory tax rate and the actual tax rate, and at the same time clarify the expectations of enterprises on the tax payment level, which is also conducive to the implementation of tax reduction policies in the future.

　　The curtain of reform is almost open, and more reform dividends can be expected. However, many experts also pointed out that this reform involves all aspects, and the difficulty, tight time and heavy tasks can be imagined. The details of the reform have yet to be introduced, and it is necessary to maintain determination and patience. "This reform is not only related to the integration of organizations, the adjustment of responsibilities, the change of management methods, but also to solving many practical problems such as cadre appointment, institutional setup, staffing, fund allocation, salary and treatment. Because the reform of tax collection and management system has its particularity, complexity and challenge, it is necessary to make overall coordination, comprehensively grasp, improve the vertical collection and management system, horizontal coordination mechanism, internal operation mechanism and external adaptation mechanism, and promote the reform smoothly and orderly, and also need more care and support from all walks of life. " Tang Jiqiang, a professor at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics and chief researcher at Xicai Think Tank, said.