Revision of the tax law should be in line with public opinion

SATURDAY WAS THE END OF THE 30-DAY period for public opinions on a draft amendment to the Personal Income Tax Law. Statistics from the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, indicate that it received about 130,000 opinions on the proposed amendment. Over the same period, it received in total about 3,000 suggestions on admendments to three other laws. Beijing News comments:

The sharp contrast shows the Personal Income Tax Law is now a focus of public attention, and the fact the people are still not happy with the draft amendment. The tax threshold in particular is a focus of concern. There are calls for the threshold of personal income tax to be raised to at least 10,000 yuan ($1,468) per month. The current threshold is 3,500 yuan, which has remained unchanged since 2011. The admendment proposes raising it to 5,000 yuan.

It will be several years before the law is revised again, so that the threshold settled this time should have more foresight and match the projected growth in personal incomes in the coming years. Raising the threshold from 3,500 yuan to 5,000 yuan is obviously not a big enough increase.

There should be a mathematical model, based on

all related data, to help calculate a proper threshold point that can be further fine-tuned according to public opinions. The authorities need to explain how they arrived at the current 5,000 yuan threshold.

And it is not just the threshold. When determining the progressive tax rate and special deductions, it is also advisable to determine the tax burden of each group based on the analysis of big data.

The huge number of opinions on a revised law should by no means be conveniently bragged about as a sign of progress in legislature transparency, but instead seen as an indicator that the proposed legislation needs further adjustment.

The tax policy should be in line with broad public opinion in order to consolidate the public’s support.