Advancing the New Round of Fiscal and Tax System Reforms Guided by Intergovernmental Power Division
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,substantial progress has been made in reforming China's fiscal and taxation system,though there remains a gap in establishing a modern fiscal framework.The primary issue has been the failure to fundamentally clarify the relationship between the central and local governments in terms of powers and responsibilities.This causes no inter-adaptation between inter-governmental powers and expenditure responsibilities,as well as a misalignment between inter-governmental powers and fiscal resources,both of which have been a key factor impeding China's further advancement of fiscal and tax system reform.So,the new round of fiscal and tax reform should be guided by the division of inter-governmental powers.Based on the framework of inter-governmental fiscal relations,this paper discusses the basic concepts such as powers,responsibilities,and expenditure responsibilities and their logical connections.Based on this,it discusses inter-adaptation between inter-governmental powers and expenditure responsibilities and the alignment between inter-governmental fiscal resources and powers,in addition to defining that improved division of inter-governmental powers shall be the core in designing the new round of fiscal and tax system reform.Firstly,by considering and reflecting on the division of China's inter-governmental powers in the process of exploring inter-governmental fiscal relations,it finds out that the division of inter-governmental powers is unreasonable,with a focus on dividing inter-governmental powers from the perspective of government authority.Secondly,fiscal authority is highly concentrated in the central government,with a focus on the division of inter-governmental tax revenue.The central and higher-level governments concentrate their fiscal resources layer by layer,and fiscal transfer payments have not effectively alleviated the financial pressure on local governments,but focused on the allocation of inter-governmental fiscal resources.The paper concludes by discussing the top-level design and reform strategies for the division and allocation of powers among Chinese governments.the paper aims to suggest directly addressing and breaking through the challenges of inter-governmental power division.By guiding the new round of fiscal and tax system reform through the advancement of inter-governmental power division,in response to the systemic drawbacks inherent in China's fiscal system,and also by being guided by clarifying the powers and responsibilities between governments,the establishment of a modern fiscal system that inter-adapts inter-governmental powers to expenditure responsibilities and aligns inter-governmental powers with fiscal resources,will not only help scientifically define powers and responsibilities of the central and local governments and ensure that governments at all levels effectively perform their functions and achieve public interests,but also lay the groundwork for the rationalization and institutionalization of inter-governmental fiscal allocation relationships.
division of inter-governmental powersfiscal and taxation system reformfiscal system