Tax and fee reductions exceeding 7.6 trillion yuan during the 13th Five Year Plan period: ensuring precise implementation of funds benefiting enterprises and the people
On April 7th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on "Implementing the Outline of the 14th Five Year Plan and Accelerating the Establishment of a Modern Financial and Tax System". The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Finance responded to the hot issues of social concern.
Enhance the effectiveness of tax reduction and fee reduction policies
In recent years, China has continued to implement large-scale tax reduction and fee reduction policies, with a cumulative tax reduction and fee reduction of over 7.6 trillion yuan during the 13th Five Year Plan period. What are the plans and arrangements for tax reduction and fee reduction during the 14th Five Year Plan period?
Assistant Minister of Finance Owen Han stated that we will comprehensively consider the need for fiscal sustainability and the implementation of policies to assist enterprises in overcoming difficulties. We will focus on improving policies and enhancing implementation effectiveness in the following five areas——
One is to continue implementing institutional tax reduction policies. The previously introduced institutional tax reduction and fee reduction policies, such as lowering the value-added tax rate, retaining and refunding value-added tax, and special additional deductions for personal income tax, will continue to be implemented, allowing the cumulative effects of the policies to continue to be released.
The second is the orderly withdrawal of phased tax reduction and fee reduction policies. Classify and adjust the phased tax reduction and fee reduction policies introduced in 2020 to cope with the epidemic, and orderly withdraw them. Appropriately extend the implementation period of policies such as reducing value-added tax for small-scale taxpayers. Temporary and emergency policies related to epidemic prevention and control and supply guarantee shall be suspended upon expiration.
The third is to strengthen tax incentives for small and micro enterprises. While implementing inclusive policies, the threshold for value-added tax for small-scale taxpayers will be raised from 100000 yuan per month to 150000 yuan per month. For small and micro enterprises and individual businesses with an annual taxable income of less than 1 million yuan, the income tax will be halved on the basis of the current preferential policies.
The fourth is to increase support for manufacturing and technological innovation. Continue to implement the policy of 75% additional deduction for enterprise R&D expenses, increase the proportion of additional deduction for manufacturing enterprises to 100%, and fully refund the value-added tax incremental credit amount to advanced manufacturing enterprises on a monthly basis.
Fifth, continue to clean up the fee fund. Cancel port construction fees, lower the collection standards for civil aviation development funds of airlines, and increase efforts to rectify various illegal charges related to enterprises.
Wang Jianfan, Director of the Tax Department of the Ministry of Finance, stated that in accordance with the requirements of the 14th Five Year Plan, China will improve the local tax system, cultivate local tax sources, and at the same time, establish a direct tax system with income tax and property tax as the main body, further improve the comprehensive and classified personal income tax system, and actively and steadily promote the legislation and reform of real estate tax.
Optimize expenditures and support the acceleration of technological self-reliance and self-improvement
What measures will the central government take to support technological innovation during the 14th Five Year Plan period?
Owen Han stated that the finance department will focus on optimizing the expenditure structure to meet national strategic needs and support the acceleration of technological self-reliance and self-improvement.
In terms of strengthening the national strategic scientific and technological strength, we will promote the improvement of the new national system under the socialist market economy system, effectively guarantee the funding for major national scientific and technological tasks, support the fight against key core technologies, and focus on solving a number of "bottleneck" problems; Accelerate the implementation of the "Science and Technology Innovation 2030- Major Projects" and provide stable support for the construction and operation of national laboratories; Increase financial investment in basic research and further improve the institutional mechanisms that encourage and support basic research and original innovation.
In terms of enhancing the technological innovation capability of enterprises, we will support enterprises to take the lead in forming innovation consortia, undertake major national science and technology projects, expand the scale of the National Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Guidance Fund, implement tax incentives for enterprises to invest in basic research, and support the pilot program of insurance compensation for the first (set) of major technological equipment.
In terms of stimulating talent innovation vitality, we will improve the innovation incentive and guarantee mechanism, perfect the mechanism for sharing the rights and interests of scientific researchers' job-related inventions, and promote further improvement of the evaluation system for scientific and technological talents.
在推动完善科技创新体制机制方面，将强化科技资源统筹，健全政府投入为主、社会多渠道投入机制等。
扩围直达资金，兜牢“三保”底线
根据部署，今年将建立常态化财政资金直达机制，实行直达管理的资金增至2.8万亿元，比去年增加1.1万亿元。这些资金用于哪些方面？财政部门如何强化管理？
财政部预算司司长李敬辉表示，直达资金主要包括三部分：一般性转移支付，为基层保基本民生、保工资、保运转这“三保”提供财力来源；共同转移支付，比如教育、就业、社会保障、卫生健康等领域基本民生保障资金；具备条件的专项转移支付，如普惠金融发展专项资金。采取直达方式能让这些资金“一竿子插到底”，强化基层财力保障，确保各项民生政策和惠企利民资金精准落地。
李敬辉说，“十四五”期间，将进一步完善直达资金机制，明确机构设置，强化中央部门指导和监督职责，对直达资金进行全过程、全链条、全方位监控。
兜牢“三保”底线，关乎民生安稳、社会安定。欧文汉表示，今年在实际新增财力有限的情况下，中央对地方转移支付剔除特殊转移支付后增长7.8%。其中，均衡性转移支付，县级基本财力保障机制奖补资金，以及革命老区、民族地区、边境地区转移支付，增幅都在10%以上。未来，将通过直达机制强化“三保”财力支撑，同时还将在指导地方预算安排、库款拨付，完善政策评估、预算审核，以及强化资金运行监测和数据分析等方面，保障资金及时、足额落地，有效防范风险。
发挥财政职能作用，促进实现共同富裕
“十四五”规划纲要提出“全体人民共同富裕迈出坚实步伐”。欧文汉表示，为扎实推进共同富裕，“十四五”期间，财政部门将从三方面发力——
一是通过发挥财政政策宏观调控作用，大力支持高质量发展，做大经济“蛋糕”。在这一过程中，着力提高低收入群体收入，扩大中等收入群体。
二是改革完善收入分配政策，分好经济“蛋糕”。包括支持强化就业优先政策和建设高质量教育体系，促进机会均等；推动健全各类生产要素参与分配的机制，提高劳动报酬在初次分配中的比重；加大税收、社会保障、转移支付等调节力度和精准性，健全社会保障体系，发挥二次分配调节作用；发挥好慈善组织在扶老、救孤、恤病、助残等领域的第三次分配作用。
三是进一步规范收入分配秩序，推动形成公正合理的收入分配格局。财政要支持健全国有资本收益分享机制；建立完善个人收入和财产信息系统，支持健全现代支付和收入监测体系，推动落实依法保护合法收入，取缔非法收入，遏制以垄断和不正当竞争行为获取收入。
Information source: China Government website
