【新唐人2011年4月23日讯】中国大陆财政部最近公布，将个人所得税起征点从目前的每月2000元人民币，提高到3000元，同时将9级税率改为7级，这项调整可能在今年下半年开始实施。不过，经济学家们指出，这次个人所得税的调整，对于缓解贫困和缩小贫富差距影响其实并不大。
对于个人所得税起征点从2000元提高到3000元，有调查数据显示，88.6%的人表示应该上调到5000元以上。中国著名经济学家茅于轼甚至认为，起征点应该提到8000元。
《欧洲时报》指出，对中低收入民众来说，起征点和税级的调整，对他们的收入水平影响并不大。中国人除了缴纳个人所得税之外，其实更多还是在购买商品时包含在价格里的消费税、增值税等间接税，对中低收入者相对负担更大。
此前，山东济南政协委员潘耀民提出，一个馒头里有高达17%的税收，引发了关注。 据山东税收部门解释，中国没有“馒头税”，政府收的是“增值税”。
美国南卡罗莱纳州大学管理学教授谢田表示，山东税务部门的解释并不错，当地馒头被征收的属于“增值税”。他分析说，增值税具有隐蔽的效果，但对消费者不甚公平：
谢田（美国南卡罗莱纳州大学管理学教授）：“‘增值税’有一个最大的不好之处就是对中下层收入的人是不公平的，实际上是负担加重的。
大陆财政部数据显示，2010年“个人所得税”仅占中国总税收的6.6%，“消费税”和“增值税”却占总税收的51.4%。其他“间接税”包括营业税、关税、土地税、资源税、城建税、社会保障税等繁杂税种。
美国《福布斯》杂志2009年评出，中国税负痛苦指数名列全球第二，仅次于法国。2010年中国的个人所得税收入为4837亿元。北京经济学者曹思源指出，中国65%的个人所得税来自工薪阶层，这无异于“劫贫济富”。
但是，这次个人所得税调整，对于高收入群体来说幅度并不大。
《华尔街日报》文章指出，月薪10万2千元以上的税负，最高增幅只有5%左右。而且，中国没有财产税，没有遗产税。富豪们大多通过权力和资源垄断，拥有大量的隐性灰色收入。
中国学者程晓农：“灰色收入主要指的是各级干部在工资收入以外的其他收入，包括接受的贿赂，还有各种以馈赠名义赠送的礼，以及以‘招待’的形式帮他支付的各种费用，包括公费旅游、公费出国、包括帮他们国外的子女支付各种费用，这都算灰色收入。所谓灰色是说这些收入从来不申报个人所得税。”
另一方面，英国《金融时报》4月21号指出，联合国的极端贫困标准是日收入不足1.25美元，按照联合国的标准，中国大约有2.54亿人仍生活在极端贫困线以下，占中国总人口的20%。
联合国有关组织将“基尼系数”0.4定为贫富两极分化、导致社会动荡的“警戒线”。中国的“基尼系数”已从1987年的0.32升到2009年的0.47，超过国际警戒线的水平。而中国目前的通货膨胀、物价飞涨，正在进一步加剧贫富两极分化。
新唐人记者李元翰、王明宇综合报导。
China to adjust personal income tax, experts: hard to narrow the wealth gap
China’s Ministry of Finance recently announced that
personal income tax threshold is raised from
RMB2000/month to RMB3000/month and tax rates
are decreased from 9-grade to 7-grade. This change
might take effect by the second half of year.
But economists said, that this personal income tax
adjustment won’t be effective to alleviate poverty
or to narrow the wealth gap.
As to the personal income tax threshold
which is raised from RMB2000 to RMB3000,
some survey data shows, 88.6% of the respondents
believe that the threshold should be over RMB5000.
Mao Yushi, a famous Chinese economist,
believed that the threshold should be RMB8000.
European Times said, the adjustment to tax rates
and threshold has little effect on low and medium
income groups’ lives. Besides personal income tax,
Chinese people pay more in indirect taxes like
consumption tax and value added tax, which are
heavier burdens to low and medium income groups.
Previously, Pan Yaomin, a CPPCC member in Jinan
City, Shandong Province, said that there is a 17% tax
in a steamed bun, arousing concerns. But
according to Shandong’s tax administration, there is
no “bun tax” in China, but only value added tax.
Xie Tian, a professor of management at the
University of South Carolina in US, said,
the explanation from Shandong’s tax administration
is tricky to consider buns’ tax as value added tax.
He analyzed that value added tax is not open
to public and is unfair to consumers.
Xie Tian (professor of management at the
University of South Carolina in US): “The trouble with
value added tax is that it is to add burdens on
low and medium income groups, which is unfair.”
Data from China’s Ministry of Finance shows, that
the “personal income tax” is only 6.6% of the total
revenue in 2010, but “consumption tax” and
“value added tax” are 51.4% of the revenue. Other
“indirect taxes” include sales tax, tariff, land tax,
resource tax, construction tax, social security tax, etc.
According to US Forbes’ report in 2009, China
ranked second after France in the tax misery index
list. China’s total personal income tax in 2010 was
483.7 billion. A Beijing economist Cao Siyuan said,
China’s 65% of personal income tax comes from
wage earners, which is to
“rob the poor and help the rich”.
But this personal income tax adjustment has
little impact on high-income groups.
According to Wall Street Journal, the amplitude of
tax burden is at most 5% to those who earn over
RMB102,000/month. Also, China does not have
property tax or inheritance tax, meaning that
the rich can have plenty of gray income by
using power and resource monopoly.
Cheng Xiaonong, a Chinese expert, said:
“Gray income means income besides salaries
of cadres at various levels, including bribe, gifts and
various fees paid by the name of “entertainment”,
like travels and tours abroad at public expense
and their children’s various fees in foreign countries.
To call these incomes gray is because they
never report personal income taxes.”
On the other hand, UK Financial Times pointed out
on April 21st, that according to United Nations’ (UN)
standard of extreme poverty, China has 254 million
people (20% of the total population) who lives in
extreme poverty with less than $1.25 per day.
UN’s related organizations set the “Gini coefficient”
0.4 as a “warning line” of polarization between
rich and poor and social instability. China’s
“Gini coefficient” has increased from 1987’s 0.32 to
2009’s 0.47, beyond the international warning line.
The inflation and soaring prices in current China
are further widening the wealth gap.
NTD reporters Li Yuanhan and Wang Mingyu
