J56 NO. Income-tax threshold likely to double.docVIP

Income-tax threshold likely to double --Sep.15,China Daily The threshold for monthly personal income tax is set to double to 1,600 yuan (US$198) a move experts hail as creating a more equitable society. If, as expected, the amendment to the personal income tax law is approved by the current session(会议, 会期, 开庭期, 学期, 一段时间)of the Standing Committee(常务委员会)of the 10th National Peoples Congress (NPC全国人民代表大会), Chinese earning less than 1,600 yuan (US$198) a month will not pay any income tax. It will ease the burden on low- and middle-income people, mainly wage-earners such as migrant workers (农民工）and employees at enterprises, said Han Bojangles, economics professor of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China(.中央党校中国共产党) The central authorities have started to use taxation as a tool to achieve the goal of building a harmonious society, said Han yesterday in an interview with China Daily. This is only the first step, he said, more measures will follow, such as the adoption of an inheritance tax（遗产税; 继承税）. The new threshold was raised from 1,500 yuan (US$185) in a previous draft of the law revision(法律的修改)after the countrys top legislature held the first-ever public hearing in Beijing last month. A total of 20 representatives from all walks of life(各行各业的) put forward their proposals, with most agreeing that the cut-off point should be raised. The move was widely hailed as a good example of heeding public opinion while formulating legislation(制定法律. In 1994, China began levying income tax on citizens earning more than 800 yuan (US$98) but only 1 per cent of people were earning more than that; now, about 60 per cent earn that much. The increased threshold will not have a bearing on foreigners working in China as they pocket 4,000 yuan (US$495) tax-free each month. But many foreign businessmen and enterprises are likely to be watching with interest as most of their employees are Chinese. In addition, procedures for tax deduction(减除税额) by companies at source would