First, the main problems existing in the collection and management of personal income tax in China at present
(A) the proportion of personal income tax in the total tax revenue is too low
In the past 20 years, China's economic aggregate and national wealth grew the fastest, and all indicators of economic development were in the forefront of the world, but the proportion of personal income tax in total tax revenue was lower than that of developing countries. 1998, personal income tax accounted for 3.4% of the total tax revenue, and in 5438+0 in 2006, this proportion rose to 6.6%, while in the United States, this proportion exceeded 40%. China's neighboring countries, such as South Korea, Thailand, India and Indonesia (generally between 10-20%), have all exceeded the level of our country. According to a recent data calculated by China State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China, China's personal income tax loses at least 1000 billion yuan every year. The reason is that the personal income tax in developed countries accounts for 30% of the total income level, while in developing countries it is 15%. Last year, China's total tax revenue10.7 trillion, personal income tax revenue120 billion. If calculated according to the ratio of developing countries 15%, China's personal income tax should be 225 billion last year. For a long period of time, it is unrealistic for China's personal income tax to become the main income of the country. But the proportion of personal income tax is really too low, and such a low personal income tax income is really rare in the world. It can be seen that the current situation of personal income tax collection and management is worrying.
(B) personal income tax collection and management system is not perfect
At present, China's tax collection and management system is not perfect, and the means of tax collection and management are backward, which makes it difficult to reflect a high level of tax collection and management. Personal income tax is a tax with the largest number of taxpayers among all taxes, and the workload of collection and management is quite large, so it must be guaranteed by strict collection and management system. However, the two collection methods currently implemented in China, withholding and self-declaration, are not perfect in the systems of declaration, examination and withholding, and the means of collection and management are backward, so it is difficult to achieve the expected results. The self-declaration system is not perfect, and it is difficult to implement the withholding system. The low level of law enforcement by tax authorities has also affected the collection of taxes to some extent. The information of tax department is not smooth, and the efficiency of collection and management is low. Due to the limitation of the current collection and management system, the collection and management information transmission is inaccurate and the timeliness is very poor. Not only can taxpayers' information not be transmitted smoothly across tax collection and management regions, but even the information transmission between tax collection and management, between tax collection and inspection, and between tax collection and management at the same level will be blocked. At the same time, due to the lack of substantive cooperation measures between tax authorities and other relevant departments (such as tax unionpay network and national tax network, etc.). ), information can not be shared, resulting in poor external information sources, tax authorities can not accurately judge the organization and collection of tax sources, resulting in a large number of loopholes. The income obtained by the same taxpayer in different regions and at different times is not declared voluntarily by the taxpayer, so the tax authorities can't make statistics and summary, and even get out of control in areas where the means of collection and management are relatively backward.
(3) The role of taxation in adjusting the gap between the rich and the poor is shrinking.
It stands to reason that people with more wealth in society should be the main taxpayers of personal income tax. However, the current situation in China is that the personal income tax paid by the middle class whose income mainly depends on wages and salaries accounts for 46.4% of all personal income tax income; The upper class (including private bosses, singers, movie stars, star players and construction contractors who made a fortune in the reform and opening up), which should be the main group to pay personal income tax, paid only about 5% of the total income. The primary problem of personal income tax collection and management is to clarify the income of taxpayers. At present, it is difficult for a taxpayer to know the real total income. At least the following behaviors are difficult for the tax authorities to control. First, income channels are diversified. What taxable income taxpayers get in the same tax period, there is no unified account in the bank, and the bank is not clear, let alone tax. Second, citizens get more income in cash (the labor law stipulates that wages and salaries are paid in cash on a monthly basis), and there is no direct connection with the personal account of the bank, so the income is difficult to control. Third, illegal income often does not occur directly through banks. It is precisely because of the above situation that the working class has become the main support of personal income tax.
(D) The phenomenon of tax evasion is serious.
After China's reform and opening up, people's income level has gradually improved, which has caused the diversification and concealment of personal income to a certain extent, which is difficult for tax authorities to monitor. Citizens' awareness of tax payment is relatively weak, and tax evasion by the rich and celebrities seems commonplace and indifferent. In newspaper news reports, we often see and hear that some celebrities and rich people evade taxes. For example, Mao Amin tax evasion case and Liu Xiaoqing tax evasion case. A survey of more than 700 residents in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou conducted by China Economic Climate Monitoring Center and CCTV's China Financial Report shows that only 12% of the respondents claimed to have paid their personal income tax in full, while nearly 24% of the respondents admitted that they had only paid part or no personal income tax, twice as much as those who paid it in full. ⑤ Personal income tax can be said to be the most difficult tax to collect and manage and the widest tax evasion in China.
Second, the reasons for the problems in the collection and management of individual income tax
(A) the current tax system model is difficult to reflect fairness and rationality.
The fairness and rationality of the legal system can stimulate people's respect for the law and improve the enthusiasm of citizens to pay taxes according to law. However, China's current personal income tax lacks scientificity, seriousness and rationality in some aspects of tax system setting, and it is difficult to adapt to the requirements of adjusting personal income under the conditions of socialist market economy. Generally speaking, the personal income tax system in the world can be divided into three categories: classified income tax system, comprehensive income tax system and mixed income tax system. At present, the tax awareness of Chinese citizens is relatively low, and the means of tax collection and management are relatively backward. Therefore, at this stage, China's personal income tax collection adopts a classified tax system.
The classified tax system is to classify all personal income according to taxable items and levy income tax on each income item. It is characterized by designing different tax rates and expense deduction standards for different types of income, determining the applicable tax rate item by item, and calculating and collecting taxes item by item. This widely used mode of source collection can control tax sources, reduce the trouble of final settlement and save the collection cost, but it can't reflect the principle of fairness and can't play a good role in regulating personal high income. With the development of economy, the composition of personal income has changed greatly. In this case, if we continue to implement the classified tax system, it is bound to happen that people with multiple incomes will deduct expenses many times and apply lower tax rates respectively, which makes the personal income tax have little effect on regulating high-income people. This not only can't fully reflect the taxpayer's real ability to pay taxes, but will cause taxpayers with more income sources and higher comprehensive income not to pay taxes or pay less taxes, while taxpayers with less income sources and relatively concentrated income pay more taxes.
For example, two taxpayers, A and B, have a monthly income of 3,200 yuan, including salary income of 800 yuan, labor remuneration income of 800 yuan, remuneration income of 800 yuan and royalty income of 800 yuan. According to the relevant provisions of the current individual income tax law, Party A will not pay individual income tax this month. And B's wage income is 1600 yuan, but he has to pay 55 yuan's personal income tax. B's income is only half that of A. A doesn't have to pay taxes, and B has to pay personal income tax in 55 yuan. Therefore, this tax system model can't fully measure the taxpayer's real ability to pay taxes, and it is not conducive to broadening the tax base. It is easy to lead to unfair tax burden, increased tax collection cost, difficult collection and management, low efficiency, and difficult to reflect fairness and rationality.
(2) The tax rate structure is unreasonable and the expense deduction method is unscientific.
Because China currently adopts a classified income tax system, the personal income tax rate varies according to the nature and category of income. Generally, there are three types: one is an excessive progressive tax rate, that is, a 9-level excessive progressive tax system is implemented for wage income, and a 5-level excessive progressive tax system is implemented for self-employed and contracted lease business income; Second, the tax rate of 20% is applied to the other eight items of income, and the tax rate of 20% is reduced by 30%; Third, the income from labor remuneration of abnormal high-income earners is subject to a one-time additional tax rate. This tax rate structure is very complicated, which is not conducive to taxpayers' tax payment, nor to tax authorities' collection and management. In particular, there are too many grades of wages and salaries, reaching nine grades, and the marginal tax rate is too high, which violates the principle of simplifying tax rate grades. Wages, salaries and remuneration for labor services are all income from labor services, but they are treated differently in taxation, and income from remuneration for labor services should be levied separately, which has no scientific basis.
In real life, due to the different proportion of costs and expenses paid by each taxpayer to obtain the same income, as well as the total income of each family, the number of dependent relatives, housing, education, medical care, insurance and other expenses. There are also great differences, and it is obviously unreasonable to stipulate that all taxpayers deduct the same amount or the same proportion of expenses from their income. This can easily lead to substantial unfair tax burden.
For example, two taxpayers, A and B, have a monthly income of 3,000 yuan. A is income from labor remuneration and B is income from wages. Then, the personal income tax to be paid by A and B this month is different. A should pay 440 yuan, and B only needs to pay 205 yuan. This is due to the different tax rates for different projects. Moreover, the family situations of Party A and Party B are different. Party A needs to support two old people and raise a child, and the spouse of Party A has no financial resources. And b lives alone and has no family burden. It is not difficult for us to see that A's family burden is much greater than B's. Obviously, A and B are different ... According to the principle of tax affordability, A's expense deduction should be greater than B's ... However, in China's current individual income tax law, this difference is not considered, and only individuals are deducted as taxpayers, which does not determine the taxpayer's real tax paying ability, which objectively causes the unfairness of tax burden.
(C) citizens' weak awareness of tax payment and the deviation of social evaluation system
"Glory in paying taxes" still stays in words. A considerable number of people, when the net income is within the scope of tax exemption, sing "tax payment glory". Once they should pay taxes, they are always unhappy, so they try their best to evade taxes. The higher the income, the more tax evasion. They either use their own rights to set their own tax standards, or break them into parts to avoid taxes such as physical objects, creditor's rights and equity distribution. Or woo tax collectors to use small losses to evade taxes. The weak legal concept of citizens is an important reason for the weak awareness of tax payment. The old saying "exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous fees" is a reflection of the opposition to taxation. In feudal society, farmers paid taxes to meet the ruling needs of the landlord class. The influence of long-term feudal society is the historical reason for citizens' weak tax consciousness. Only obeying official management and not knowing how to obey the law is a sign of weak legal awareness.
In addition, an important reason for tax evasion now is that there is a problem with the social evaluation system. On the one hand, some people donate money and materials to the society, on the other hand, they are evading taxes on a large scale. Because society and individuals seem to think that donation is more valuable and meaningful than paying taxes; In addition, society is not ashamed of tax evasion, and others do not regard your credit record as bad, do not associate with you, or cut off transactions with you. In foreign countries, tax evasion is a major event. As long as you evade taxes, not only will your business be banned, but your behavior will also be despised by the public. This is the deviation of our evaluation system.
The punishment for tax-related crimes is not enough.
In some developed countries, in the tax season of April every year, whether you are a blue-collar worker or a white-collar worker, whether you are a star singer or a politician, you have to calculate your income and tax payable in the last year and report it to the tax authorities truthfully. The tax authorities conduct random checks, and once anyone who intentionally evades is found, no matter who he is, he will be fined to pay taxes, or he will be jailed and lose everything. However, China's current tax collection and management law stipulates that tax evasion and other tax violations shall be fined up to five times. Because the tax authorities only pay attention to the investigation and compensation of taxes and not to punishment, many people think that tax evasion is profitable even if it is investigated. According to statistics, in recent years, among the cases of tax violations investigated and dealt with by tax authorities, fines only account for about 10% of overdue taxes. On the other hand, in the process of tax enforcement, because there is no lower penalty limit, the tax authorities have too much discretion, so the phenomenon that the rule of man is not as good as the rule of law is more serious, and some offenders are sheltered from time to time. All these objectively stimulate the taxpayers' motivation to evade taxes. "Getting rich and avoiding taxes" has even become the secret of getting rich for some people.
(5) The rights and obligations of taxpayers are not equal.
First, the rights and obligations of the working class and the high-income class are unequal among taxpayers. Although everyone is equal before the tax law in theory, in fact, the tax burden of workers who take wages as their only source of income is not light, and they are directly withheld and remitted by the financial department of their own unit when paying wages, so the tax is "nowhere to escape"; The high-income class and the rich can "reasonably avoid tax" through various means such as pre-tax income, dividends, options and share redistribution, public funds to bear high personal consumption, insurance and cash transactions. High-income earners and the rich occupy more social resources, but pay less taxes. This contrast will form a bad orientation in society. Second, in the relationship between taxpayers and the government, there is also the inequality of power and obligation. Economics understands taxation as "a transaction between the government and taxpayers", that is, when collecting taxes, the government must provide various services for taxpayers. If, after paying the tax, the taxpayer has no say in how to spend the tax, even when it is squandered by corrupt officials, then don't say that the people's tax awareness can't be improved, and even the legitimacy of the government collecting taxes from the people is problematic. Citizens have the obligation to pay taxes and the right to supervise how the government uses the money; The state has the privilege of collecting taxes, but it also has the obligation to serve taxpayers and accept supervision. Only when these two aspects "act according to law" can the social mechanism function normally.
Three, several countermeasures to solve the problem of personal income tax collection and management
(A) choose a reasonable tax system model
At present, the tax system mode adopted in China is classified tax system mode, which lacks flexibility and increases tax cost. With the development of economy and the increase of personal income sources, this tax system model will inevitably make tax collection and management more difficult and inefficient. Considering that the taxpayer's awareness of paying taxes and the ability and means of tax collection and management of tax authorities in China are still not perfect, it is advocated to adopt a mixed income tax model with comprehensive income tax as the main and classified income tax as the supplement. First of all, according to China's actual situation and considering the trend of international economic development, we should abandon the simple classified collection model and establish a tax system with comprehensive collection as the mainstay and appropriate classified collection. Because almost no country in the world adopts a simple itemized tax system to collect personal income tax, as the largest developing country in the world, we must integrate into the tide of world economic development and strive to adapt to the trend of international economic development. It is no longer feasible to adopt a simple classified tax system. We must first transition to a mixed system, and then develop into a comprehensive system through reform. Secondly, the itemized tax system model can't adapt to the development of the socialist market economy, lacks fairness, and is inefficient in collection and management, which is not conducive to the function of individual income tax. The mixed system with comprehensive income tax as the main and classified income tax as the supplement is truly based on China's national conditions, which is conducive to embodying the principle of paying taxes according to ability and truly achieving the purpose of adjusting personal income and preventing polarization.
For example, in the example mentioned above, there are two taxpayers, A and B. A's monthly income is 3,200 yuan, including salary income 800 yuan, labor remuneration income 800 yuan, remuneration income 800 yuan and royalty income 800 yuan. And b's salary income is 1600 yuan. If the comprehensive income tax is adopted, the deduction standard is still 800 yuan, and the taxable income of Party A is 2,400 yuan, and the taxable income of Party B is 800 yuan. Even if the same tax rate is applied, the personal income tax payable by Party A is three times that of Party B. Therefore, the adoption of comprehensive income tax can comprehensively and completely reflect the true tax paying ability of taxpayers.
(2) Reasonable design of tax rate structure and expense deduction standard.
China's current personal income tax rate structure is unfair, which easily makes taxpayers have the motivation to evade taxes. Therefore, we should redesign the tax rate structure of individual income tax and implement a progressive tax rate model of "less grades and low tax rates". First of all, it is appropriate to design the tax rate as five grades. Secondly, considering inflation, the development of economic level and the improvement of people's living standards, we should appropriately raise the deduction standard and increase the deduction items. Although the individual income tax law has been revised several times, the standard of deducting expenses in 800 yuan has never been adjusted, and it has been implemented until now, which obviously does not conform to the current social situation. We can allow the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government to determine their own standards for reducing expenses according to the specific conditions of their respective regions, and report them to the Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China for the record. This not only conforms to the actual situation, but also helps to adjust the personal income level. At the same time, according to the objective needs of economic development, some deductions are appropriately added. According to the specific situation of China's current economic development, considering housing, education, medical care, insurance and other factors, the corresponding deduction items are set up. This will be more conducive to the economic development of China.
Or compare the example given in the last article, the monthly income of two taxpayers, A and B, is 3000 yuan, A comes from labor remuneration, B comes from salary, and the family situation of A and B is different. A needs to support two old people and raise a child, while A's spouse has no financial resources. And b lives alone and has no family burden. If according to the principle of affordability and reasonable deduction, A's taxable income should be lower than B's, and according to the excessive progressive tax rate, A's applicable tax rate should be equal to or lower than B's applicable tax rate, then A's personal income tax should be less than B's, so as to avoid the unreasonable phenomenon that A's tax burden is greater than B's under the current tax system.
(3) Expand taxpayers' right to know and enhance their awareness of paying taxes.
Law is a provision about rights and obligations. Rights and obligations are symmetrical. Without rights, there is no obligation, and without obligations, there is no right. Those who enjoy rights must fulfill their obligations, and those who fulfill their obligations have the right to enjoy rights. In the real society, rights and obligations are not equal, and whether the tax obligation is fulfilled or not does not affect the enjoyment of public goods and services. Since you can enjoy your rights without fulfilling your tax obligations, it is bound to leave only an empty slogan of "tax payment glory" and lose the foundation of legal fairness and justice. In the publicity of tax law, taxpayers' obligation propaganda is more than taxpayers' rights propaganda, which weakens the awareness of tax payment. It is believed that after solving the rights of taxpayers, their enthusiasm for paying taxes will be greatly improved. Therefore, we should expand taxpayers' right to know, increase the transparency of government budget and expenditure, and let taxpayers truly feel that they are the masters of the country. Taxpayers not only have a clear tax collection process, but also know the tax flow direction, so that taxpayers' tax resistance can be eliminated. The normal operation of government functions is closely related to taxpayers' tax payment behavior. Government departments use the funds provided by taxpayers, and taxpayers have the right to supervise the work of government departments and accept their services. The supervision of taxpayers can effectively prevent a lot of redundant construction and waste, and it is also a good prescription to curb corruption.
(four) increase the investigation and punishment of personal income tax evasion, and safeguard the seriousness of the law.
It is one of the keys to do a good job in the collection and management of personal income tax and effectively investigate and deal with tax evasion. In view of the current situation of ineffective investigation and punishment of personal income tax evasion in China, the author suggests that the state carry out special inspections of personal income tax several times a year to strengthen the close cooperation between tax authorities and relevant departments; Through legislation, give tax authorities some special powers and strengthen law enforcement; To investigate and deal with tax evasion, we should increase the amount of fines imposed on taxpayers, and refer to the practice of some countries-no matter how much tax a taxpayer steals, he will be punished with all his money, and his tax evasion will be made public to make an example for others and urge other taxpayers to pay taxes according to law. At the same time, some taxpayers whose tax evasion constitutes a crime cannot be punished instead of the law, and their criminal responsibility must be investigated according to law to safeguard the seriousness of the law.
(5) Strengthen tax source control to prevent tax loss.
At present, the phenomenon of diversification and concealment of personal income distribution and cash payment is widespread in China. To improve China's personal income tax and strengthen tax collection and management, the first choice is to strengthen tax source control. Specific measures are as follows:
1. Strengthen tax source management by modern means. Take the practice of some developed countries, such as the United States, to set up a special tax number for every citizen with normal income and establish an income tax file, so that all personal income and expenses are carried out under this tax number. In connection with this, in view of the fact that the non-real-name registration system of savings deposits has made citizens' personal income opaque and opaque for a long time, which has seriously hindered the tax authorities from controlling the sources of personal income tax, we should change the non-real-name registration system of personal savings deposits into a real-name registration system on the premise of taxation, interbank banking and computer networking, increase the transparency of personal income, make every income of citizens under the effective supervision of the tax authorities, and make the income tax situation of every citizen clear at a glance, thus plugging tax loopholes and preventing.
2. Give full play to the role of withholding agents. Controlling the source of personal income tax is the requirement of China's current tax law, and the payment unit is the withholding agent (hereinafter referred to as withholding agent) to withhold and pay taxes. This practice is not only in line with international practice, but also suitable for the actual situation that China's tax collection and management methods are backward, the professional collection and management strength is not strong, and the socialized collection network is urgently needed. To this end, in view of the fact that the withholding agent's role in withholding tax has not been fully exerted in previous years, we should establish the withholding agent's file, standardize the withholding agent's procedures for withholding tax and reporting, supervise taxpayers' correct use of tax withholding vouchers, and strengthen the publicity of withholding agents so that they can understand that they should bear corresponding legal responsibilities if they fail to fulfill their withholding obligations as stipulated in the tax law, so as to further improve and standardize the tax withholding work.
Precautions:
(1), Dong Shukui, Analysis of the Current Situation of Individual Income Tax in China (China Taxation, No.5, 2003).
② ③ State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China compiled the Yearbook of Tax Statistics in 2003.
(4) Dong Shukui's Analysis of Personal Income Tax in China, Tax Research, No.2, 2002.
⑤ Chen, The current situation of individual income tax collection and management in China is worrying. China Tax News No.28, 2003.
⑥ State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China compiled 200 1 tax statistics yearbook, 2002 tax statistics yearbook and 2003 tax statistics yearbook.
reference data
1, CoCo Lee's "Analysis on the Current Operation of Individual Income Tax in China and Improvement Measures" (Journal of Jilin Institute of Finance and Taxation, No.2, 2003)
2. He Ran's Analysis of Personal Income Tax Loss (Journal of Shanxi Economic Management Cadre College, No.3, 2003)
3. Some Thoughts on Improving Personal Income Tax in Summer and Autumn (Shanghai Finance and Taxation, No.5, 2003)
4. How to discuss some problems of personal income tax reform in China (Journal of Social Sciences of Shaanxi Universities, No.4, 2003)
5. Ruan Yingguo's current situation, causes and countermeasures of personal income tax in China (Journal of Hefei United University, 1998, 1).
6. Ideas on reforming and perfecting individual income tax (Journal of Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, No.3, 1998)
7. Guli's thoughts on the analysis and improvement of China's personal income tax (Minshui 2006 54 38+0 3)
8. Li Aige, Evolution of Contemporary Tax Principles and Individual Income Tax Reform in China, Journal of Taxation of Yangzhou University, No.2, 2002.