【财政人 • 税讯】Income tax reform needs better homework
There is no truth in the news that "individuals whose annual income is above 120,000 yuan ($17,704) will have to pay higher income tax". Still, it has touched the nerve[1] of many people in big cities, for they fear they may be forced to pay higher taxes.
“年收入超过12万元（17704美元）的个人必须缴纳更高所得税”的消息是没有道理的。 然而，它触动了许多大城市人的神经，因为他们害怕他们可能要被迫缴纳更高的税。
Whether people earning 120,000 yuan a year belong to the "high-income group" or not is debatable[2]. In first- and second-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Hangzhou, many people don't think that earning 120,000 yuan a year makes them part of the high-income group.
年收入12万元的人是否属于“高收入群体”是有争议的。 在北京，上海，广州，深圳，厦门和杭州这些一二线城市，很多人不认为年收入12万元属于高收入群体。
In 2006, the taxation authorities announced that individuals who earn more than 120,000 yuan a year should declare their incomes to the taxation authorities themselves to be appropriately taxed. This decision distinguished[3] the so-called high-income group from the rest of the population. Comparatively[4] speaking, people with an annual income of 120,000 yuan a year or more then accounted for a small part of the overall income tax payers, making them part of the high-income group.
2006年，税务局宣布，年收入超过12万元的个人应向税务机关申报收入以便适当纳税。这项决定将所谓的高收入群体与其他人口区分开来。相对而言，每年年收入12万元及以上的人占总纳税人的一小部分，这使他们成为高收入群体的一部分。
But 10 years later how high an income is 120,000 yuan a year in a big city? Many people in big cities have taken very high housing loans because of the skyrocketing[5] property prices. And for many, high housing rent accounts for almost a half of their income. So if individual income tax is raised, it will undermine[6] the expansion of the middle class.
但10年后，在大城市每年的收入12万元人民币是多高？大城市的许多人都因为房价飙升而承担了非常高的房贷。且对许多人来说，高额房租几乎占了他们收入的一半。因此，如果提高个人所得税，它将破坏中产阶级的扩张。
There is no doubt that China's individual income tax requires reform, but it should be launched after proper research.
毫无疑问，中国的个人所得税需要改革，但应该在适当的研究之后推出。
China's Gini coefficient[7] has been above 0.4 for a long time, which means the problem of unfair income distribution remains to be solved. To reform the income distribution system, however, the authorities should improve social security and public services, as individual income tax plays little role in this process.
中国的基尼系数长期以来一直在0.4以上，这意味着不公平的收入分配问题仍有待解决。但是，为了改革收入分配制度，当局应改善社会保障和公共服务，因为个人所得税在这一过程中几乎没有作用。
The accumulated[8] revenue from individual income tax in 2015 was 861.7 billion yuan, but it accounted for only 6.9 percent of China's overall tax revenue. This shows revenue from individual income tax, which accounts for only a small proportion of the government's overall tax revenue, can hardly play a key role in fair income re-distribution.
2015年个人所得税累计收入为8,617亿元，但仅占中国税收总额的6.9％。 这表明来自个人所得税的收入在政府的总体税收中只占很小比例，在公平的收入再分配中几乎不会发挥关键作用。
But it doesn't mean individual income tax should not be reformed any further. In fact, the aim of individual income tax reform should be to promote income fairness, for which the tax authorities should establish a new individual income tax regime[9] combining classified and synthetical[10] tax systems.
但这并不意味着个人所得税不应该进一步改革。 实际上，个人所得税改革的目的应该是促进收入公平，税务局应建立一个新的个人所得税制度，将分类和综合的税收系统结合起来。
Equal tax should be imposed on salaries and remuneration[11] for personal services.
应对个人工资和劳务报酬公平征税。
In addition, the existing unified exemption of 3,500 yuan for individual income tax payers should be changed. Income tax exemption standard should be granted after taking into consideration some actual living expenses such as supporting senior citizens in the family, raising children and paying for their education, and family medical expenses.
此外，个人所得税纳税人现有的统一豁免的3500元应当改变。所得税免税标准应考虑到一些实际生活费用，如支持家庭中的老年人，抚养子女和支付他们的教育，以及家庭医疗费用。
New words
[1] nerve n. 神经；勇气；[植] 叶脉
[2] debatable adj. 成问题的；可争论的；未决定的
[3] distinguish vt. 区分；辨别；使杰出，使表现突出 vi. 区别，区分；辨别
[4] comparatively adv. 比较地；相当地
[5] skyrocket vi. 飞涨，突然高升 vt. 使…猛然上涨
[6] undermine vt. 破坏，渐渐破坏；挖掘地基
[7] Gini coefficient n. 基尼系数
[8] accumulate vi. 累积；积聚 vt. 积攒
[9] regime n. 破产，无力偿还；倒闭
[10] synthetical adj. 综合的；合成的
[11] remuneration n. 报酬；酬劳，赔偿
发表
26906人
签到看排名