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Masses deserve tax relief

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-11 07:48

The government should give away part of the fruits of economic development to the masses and meanwhile properly use the collected taxes, says an article in China Youth Daily. Following is an excerpt:

The public has long debated whether to raise the threshold on individual income tax. Government officials mostly oppose the tax cut on individual income, while the masses usually support it.

Officials oppose the rise for it will largely reduce the money collected by the government. As we know, the government needs money to supply public services like education and health care.

The masses definitely know that the government needs money to fulfil its duties, but as for how much money they need, the masses hold a different view to officials. For the latter, the more taxes, the better. But China is already recognized as one of the countries with the heaviest tax burdens.

What the masses hope to see is the government carefully spending the money collected. As they discover a number of taxes are wasted and corrupted by government officials, they show reluctance to pay taxes and even try to evade it, just as many rich people do.

An old saying goes that "the people will be rich if the country gets rich". But the masses are finding another story. For example, China's financial revenues have expanded faster than gross domestic product. And the masses are yet to see a proportional rise in their incomes.

(China Daily 03/11/2009 page9)