Beijing fails to match US on tax cuts, as fiscal revenue soars in first four months to US$1.4tn
Revenue from personal income tax up 20.8pc in January-April period, while earnings from VAT grows by 18.4pc
Despite Beijing’s repeated promises to reduce the tax burden on companies and individuals, China’s fiscal revenue in the first four months of 2018 surged 16.5 per cent from the same period of last year to 8.9 trillion yuan (US$1.4 trillion).
The pressure on China to lower taxes has been growing since US President Donald Trump unveiled cuts worth US$1.5 trillion in December. But the latest figures from the finance ministry do little to suggest there has been a significant move in that direction.
China’s tax revenue has been growing faster than its economy and corporate income, while the total for the January-April period was the highest ever for the first four months of a year.
Government revenue from corporate income tax rose 13 per cent in the period, while earnings from value-added tax gained 18.4 per cent, the ministry said. In comparison, the value of China’s industrial output in the period increased by just 6.9 per cent.
The figures were even less encouraging for individuals, with revenue from personal income tax leaping 20.8 per cent. That increase was more than four times the average 5 per cent growth in private sector wages announced by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.
