Guidelines on Building High-quality Teachers - State Council Studies National Strategy on Ageing - Han Wenxiu on Fiscal & Tax System Reform
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People's Daily’s edition on Tuesday, August 27, 2024.
Page 1: The full text of the guidelines on cultivating high-quality and professional teachers is published in the paper today. The first section of the document calls for work in this regard to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
The fundamental task is cultivating people with moral integrity or fostering virtue through education. In doing so, strengthening the construction of the teaching workforce is the most important foundational work in building a strong education system. It also calls to “improve the long-term mechanism for the development of teacher ethics and work style.” The goal is to “build a high-quality, professional teaching workforce characterised by noble ethics, exceptional skills, a reasonable structure, and vitality.”
It calls to “adhere to the spirit of educators in order to cast soul and strengthen the teaching profession. Guide teachers to firmly hold the ideals and beliefs of selflessness and sincerely serving the country. Cultivate moral character that sets an example in speech for scholars and in conduct for society….” 工作中要坚持教育家精神铸魂强师，引导广大教师坚定心有大我、至诚报国的理想信念，陶冶言为士则、行为世范的道德情操，涵养启智润心、因材施教的育人智慧，秉持勤学笃行、求是创新的躬耕态度，勤修乐教爱生、甘于奉献的仁爱之心，树立胸怀天下、以文化人的弘道追求，践行教师群体共同价值追求.
In terms of targets, in 3-5 years, the aim is to achieve “positive results”. By 2035, the aim is to have the “the spirit of educators” “become the conscious pursuit of the majority of teachers”.
The first operative section focuses on strengthening ideological and political construction of teachers. It calls to:
Establish and improve the standardised theoretical learning system for teachers, and persist in using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to forge hearts and minds. In addition, it talks about history education for teachers and to regularly carry out ideological and political training for teachers to enhance their political, ideological, theoretical, and emotional identification with the Communist Party of China and socialism with Chinese characteristics. 加强理想信念教育。建立健全教师定期理论学习制度，坚持不懈用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想凝心铸魂。持续抓好党史、新中国史、改革开放史、社会主义发展史学习教育。统筹各级各类党校（行政学院）等资源，定期开展教师思想政治轮训，增进广大教师对中国共产党和中国特色社会主义的政治认同、思想认同、理论认同、情感认同.
Prioritise the Party’s political construction and firmly ensure the Party’s leadership over the development of teachers. Select and strengthen the appointment of outstanding Party branch secretaries among teachers, strengthen the cultivation of teacher party branch secretaries as ‘dual leaders’, and fully leverage the role of teacher and normal school student party branches as fighting bastions and the vanguard exemplary role of Party member teachers. 加强教师队伍建设党建引领。把党的政治建设摆在首位，牢牢掌握党对教师队伍建设的领导权。选优配强教师党支部书记，强化教师党支部书记“双带头人”培育，充分发挥教师、师范生党支部的战斗堡垒作用和党员教师的先锋模范作用.
The section after this talks about cultivating ethics; this deals with political but also academic and social ethics. Few interestings bits are:
Guide the majority of teachers to consciously practise the spirit of educators, be models in abiding by the Constitution and laws and regulations, perform their duties as teachers in accordance with the law, and resolutely resist words and deeds that damage the authority of the CPC Central Committee and national interests; abide by the professional code of conduct of teachers in the new era and consciously defend teachers’ professional dignity; be models in abiding by social morality, maintain a decent image, be upright in words and deeds. 引导广大教师自觉践行教育家精神，模范遵守宪法和法律法规，依法履行教师职责，坚决抵制损害党中央权威、国家利益的言行；模范遵守新时代教师职业行为准则，自觉捍卫教师职业尊严；模范遵守社会公德，形象得体、言行雅正.
Make the study and implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on education a compulsory course for teacher training and an important task for teacher education and training, so that teachers can grasp its profound connotation and achieve unity of knowledge and action. 把学习贯彻习近平总书记关于教育的重要论述作为教师培养的必修课，作为教师教育和培训的重要任务，使广大教师把握其深刻内涵、做到知行合一.
It also calls for “zero tolerance for violations of teachers' ethics.”
The section after this deals with improving the professional quality of teachers and optimising resource allocation. Section 5 deals with protecting teachers’ rights and interests. This covers not just pay and other financial support, but also supporting them when it comes to criminal acts and reducing burdens so that they focus on core tasks. The final section talks about cultivating a social trend of respecting teachers and valuing education.
One aspect of this is that “teachers and individuals who have made outstanding contributions shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with relevant regulations, and the commendation and rewards shall be tilted towards rural teachers.” 对作出突出贡献的教师集体和个人，按照有关规定给予表彰奖励，表彰奖励向乡村教师倾斜.
Anyway, next, there’s a report on the State Council study session, which focussed on having a national strategy of actively responding to population ageing and promoting the coordinated development of the elderly care industry. Professor Wu Yushao from Fudan University was the expert speaker. Vice Premier Liu Guozhong, State Councilor Wang Xiaohong and State Councilor Shen Yiqin participated in discussions.
Li Qiang eventually spoke. He said that population ageing will be a basic part of the Chinese national conditions for quite some time to come. It is necessary to understand this situation objectively and dialectically. It is necessary to attach great importance to the challenges brought by ageing, but also see that ageing contains new development opportunities, and the elderly population is also a valuable resource. It is necessary to act in accordance with the trends and take the initiative, enhance strategic foresight, and make forward-looking plans; combine coping with population aging with promoting economic and social development, strengthen service, financial and institutional guarantees, and cultivate new development momentum in actively coping with population ageing.” 李强在听取讲座和交流发言后指出，人口老龄化是今后较长一段时期我国的基本国情。要客观辩证看待老龄化发展新形势。既要高度重视老龄化带来的挑战，又要看到老龄化蕴藏着新的发展机遇，老龄人口也是宝贵的资源。要顺势而为、主动作为，增强战略预判、做好前瞻部署，将应对人口老龄化和促进经济社会发展相结合，加强服务、资金和制度保障，在积极应对人口老龄化中培育发展新动能.
Xinhua covers the rest of it well:
“Li stressed the need to develop home and community-based elderly care services, improve the rural elderly care services network, and support local governments in providing mutual-aid elderly care based on actual local conditions. To respond to the care needs of elderly people with disabilities, Li called for efforts to promote the integration of medical and health care with elderly care, increase the supply of nursing home beds, and develop long-term care services. The government will strengthen financial security to support the elderly, improve the unified national management system for basic old-age insurance funds, and develop a multi-tiered and multi-pillar old-age insurance system, he said. He called for active efforts to tap into elderly human resources and create diverse jobs that are tailored to the population group. He also stressed the importance of expanding and improving the silver economy to meet the needs of the elderly in an improved manner.”
The report ends with Li calling on all regions and departments to “enhance their sense of responsibility and urgency and formulate and improve policies in a more targeted manner”, saying that “actively responding to population ageing is a comprehensive and long-term major strategy.”
Next, there’s a report informing that the Chinese jetliner, the ARJ21, took off from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and arrived at Daocheng Yading Airport after a 44-minute flight on Sunday. ECNS reports:
“This marks an important step in the demonstration flight of ARJ21 aircraft around Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Launched on Aug. 21, the demo flight will exceed one month and encompass several high-plateau airports in Xizang, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu. This move aims to fully demonstrate the adaptability of ARJ21 aircraft to high-plateau airports and high-plateau routes, of airport ground service equipment and of special flight procedures, so as to better and more comprehensively meet the requirements of high-altitude operation. Daocheng Yading Airport in Sichuan Province, located at 4,411 meters above sea level, is known as the world's highest-altitude civilian airport. In July 2020, the ARJ21 aircraft completed maximum take-off and landing altitude tests locally. These tests verified that the ARJ21 is capable of serving all high-plateau airports, and paved the way for airlines to use the aircraft along more high-altitude routes, according to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC), its developer. Plateau airports refer to those airports with an altitude of more than 1,500 meters above sea level. They include high-plateau airports that exceed 2,438 meters above sea level.”
Page 2: There are two reports on Shanghai and Guangdong holding events to mark the 120th birth anniversary of Deng Xiaoping. In his remarks, Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining was as clear as one can be:
“We commemorate Comrade Deng Xiaoping to more closely unite around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, serve as the vanguard of reform and opening up and the forerunner of innovation and development, constantly create a new situation in Shanghai's reform and opening up and socialist modernization, and make new and greater contributions to the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation.” 我们纪念邓小平同志，就是要更加紧密团结在以习近平同志为核心的党中央周围，当好改革开放排头兵、创新发展先行者，不断开创上海改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新局面，为强国建设、民族复兴伟业作出新的更大贡献.
Guangdong Party Secretary Huang Kunming said that:
“The best way to commemorate Comrade Deng Xiaoping is to continue to advance the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics that he pioneered. We must fully implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, thoroughly study and implement the important speeches and instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping during his inspection of Guangdong, vigorously promote the spirit of reform and opening up and the spirit of the special economic zones, strive to promote Guangdong to be at the forefront of promoting Chinese-style modernization, and strive to create new and greater miracles that will impress the world.” 中共中央政治局委员、广东省委书记黄坤明在座谈会上表示，对邓小平同志最好的纪念，就是把他开创的中国特色社会主义事业继续推向前进。我们要全面贯彻落实党的二十届三中全会精神，深入学习贯彻习近平总书记考察广东重要讲话、重要指示精神，大力弘扬改革开放精神、特区精神，奋力推动广东在推进中国式现代化建设中走在前列，努力创造让世界刮目相看的新的更大奇迹.
Page 3: There’s a report on Li Ganjie meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Civil Service Minister Hun Many in Beijing. Xinhua says:
“Li said that China attaches great importance to developing relations with Cambodia and stands ready to work with Cambodia to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and countries, push forward the building of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era, and deliver more benefits to the two peoples. Hun Many thanked China for its valuable long-term support to Cambodia. He said Cambodia firmly supports China's core interests and is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in various fields, including civil service affairs.”
Also on the page is a report (English report) on Thailand’s new PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s comments on ties with China.
“Paetongtarn wrote on social media platform X that Thailand's friendship with China is based on "mutual trust and respect, a common vision towards prosperity and progress, as well as familial ties between our two countries' peoples." The prime minister added that she is committed to further strengthening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Thailand and China and looks forward to jointly celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2025.”
Page 9: There’s an article by Han Wenxiu on the reform of the fiscal and taxation system.
Han writes that “A scientific fiscal and taxation system is the institutional guarantee for optimising resource allocation, maintaining market unity, promoting social equity, and realising long-term peace and stability of the country. Deepening the reform of the fiscal and taxation systems is of great significance to comprehensively promoting Chinese-style modernization with high-quality development” 科学的财税体制是优化资源配置、维护市场统一、促进社会公平、实现国家长治久安的制度保障，深化财税体制改革对于以高质量发展全面推进中国式现代化意义重大.
In the first section, Han largely talks about why fiscal and taxation system reform is needed. He argues:
The fiscal and taxation system is an important basic system that affects the allocation of resources, and fiscal policy is an important tool for macro-control. We must adapt to the changes in the principal contradiction of our society, accelerate the improvement of fiscal and taxation systems and mechanisms that are conducive to high-quality development, address the prominent issues that hinder the establishment of a new development pattern and the promotion of high-quality development, stimulate the vitality of various business entities, shape new development momentum and advantages, and create social wealth and material foundation that match the modernization level of more than 1.4 billion people. 财税体制是影响资源配置的重要基础制度，财政政策是宏观调控的重要工具。必须适应我国社会主要矛盾变化，加快完善有利于高质量发展的财税体制机制，破除构建新发展格局、推动高质量发展面临的突出问题，激发各类经营主体活力，塑造发展新动能新优势，创造出与14亿多人口现代化水平相匹配的社会财富和物质基础.
Finance is the foundation and important pillar of national governance, and the fiscal and taxation system is an important part of the high-level socialist market economic system. We must adapt to the requirements of advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities, strengthen our foundations, leverage our advantages, address weaknesses, and bolster areas of deficiency. Focus on building a unified national market, improve the macroeconomic governance system, accelerate the enhancement of the tax system and fiscal mechanisms, and strengthen coordination with other reforms, fully implement the requirements of modern budget management, and better transform China’s institutional advantages into national governance effectiveness. 财政是国家治理的基础和重要支柱，财税体制是高水平社会主义市场经济体制的重要组成部分。必须适应推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的要求，固根基、扬优势，补短板、强弱项，围绕构建全国统一大市场、健全宏观经济治理体系，加快完善税收制度和财政体制，加强与其他改革协同配套，全面落实现代预算管理要求，把我国制度优势更好转化为国家治理效能.
Deepening the reform of the fiscal and taxation system is an objective requirement for promoting Chinese-style modernization… At present, the urban-rural, regional development and income distribution gaps in China are still prominent. The per capita resource availability is low, and the ecological environment is under significant pressure, while the external environment for development is becoming increasingly severe. It is necessary to accelerate the improvement of the fiscal and taxation system and mechanism to promote shared development, expanding the ‘cake’ while also dividing it better, promoting coordinated development between urban and rural areas, enhancing public welfare, and advancing common prosperity. Improve the fiscal and taxation policy system that supports green and low-carbon development, and promote the construction of a Beautiful China and harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. 深化财税体制改革是推进中国式现代化的客观要求。以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业，需要不断完善包括财税领域在内的各方面体制机制。当前，我国城乡区域发展和收入分配差距问题仍然突出，人均资源占有量少、生态环境承载压力较大，发展的外部环境日益严峻。需要加快完善推动共享发展的财税体制机制，在做大“蛋糕”的同时分好“蛋糕”，促进城乡区域协调发展，增进民生福祉，促进共同富裕。健全支持绿色低碳发展的财税政策体系，促进美丽中国建设、人与自然和谐共生.
In the second section, Han outlines principles and requirements. These are:
Correctly handle the relationship between the government and the market. “Budget reform should focus on giving full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation and better leverage the role of the government, clarify the boundaries of the government’s role, overcoming issues of misalignment, overreach, and gaps, ensuring that the government effectively manages its responsibilities, and minimising direct resource allocation and intervention in microeconomic activities, create a fairer and more dynamic market environment, and promote a better combination of effective markets and effective governments. Tax system reform should carefully balance the relationship between ‘extraction’ and ‘allocation; preventing excessive tax burdens and exhausting the pond to catch fish while also avoiding overly low tax burdens that weaken government regulation and public service provision. Maintain an appropriate fiscal capacity and government revenue and expenditure scale in order to ensure that economic development remains on a positive and sustainable trajectory.” 预算改革要围绕充分发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用和更好发挥政府作用，明晰政府作用边界，克服错位、越位、缺位现象，政府该管的要管住，最大限度减少对资源的直接配置和对微观经济活动的直接干预，创造更加公平、更有活力的市场环境，推动有效市场和有为政府更好结合。税制改革要注意处理好“取”与“予”的关系，既防止税负过重、竭泽而渔，又避免税负过低、政府调控和公共服务保障乏力，保持合适的财政汲取能力和政府收支规模，使财政经济发展始终在良性循环轨道上运行.
Correctly handle the relationship between the central and local governments. The fiscal relationship between the central and local governments is a basic component of the division of powers and responsibilities between governments. The division of government revenue and of powers and expenditure responsibilities, and the transfer payment system arrangements are related to the long-term stability of the country. To deepen reform, we must adhere to dialectical thinking, proceed from the overall interests of the country, coordinate and balance the central government’s regulatory power and vitality of development at the local level, clarify the relationship between powers and responsibilities, and better leverage the initiative of the central, local and all parties. We must moderately strengthen the central government's fiscal powers and expenditure responsibilities, maintain a reasonable proportion of central fiscal revenue and expenditure, and enhance the central government’s ability to coordinate, command, and manage the economy, society and development. At the same time, we should appropriately delegate power to local governments, increase local autonomous financial resources, and encourage local governments to promote high-quality development of local economic and social undertakings in accordance with local conditions.” 正确处理中央与地方的关系。中央和地方财政关系是政府间权责划分的基本组成部分，政府收入划分、事权和支出责任划分、转移支付制度安排事关国家长治久安。深化改革要坚持辩证思维，从国家整体利益出发，统筹兼顾中央的调控力和地方的发展活力，理清权责关系，更好发挥中央、地方和各方面积极性。要适度加强中央财政事权和支出责任，保持合理的中央财政收支比重，增强中央统一调度、指挥、管理经济社会和发展的能力。同时，适当放权给地方，增加地方自主财力，鼓励各地因地制宜推动当地经济和社会事业高质量发展.
Correctly handle the relationship between efficiency and fairness. The fiscal and taxation system involves primary distribution, redistribution and tertiary distribution, which affects the balance and realisation of efficiency and fairness goals. Deepening fiscal and taxation system reform should adhere to the direction of socialist market economy reform, improve the institutional mechanisms and regulatory policies, fully leverage the role of market mechanisms, better stimulate the enthusiasm of all parties, and achieve optimal resource allocation efficiency and maximum effectiveness. At the same time, we must coordinate the promotion of fairness in rules, opportunities and outcomes, break down the barriers of solidified interests and social stratification, regulate the mechanism of wealth accumulation, increase the regulatory force of taxation, social security, transfer payments, and other measures, to better enable the broad masses of people to share in the fruits of reform and development. 正确处理效率与公平的关系。财税体制涉及初次分配、再分配和第三次分配，影响效率与公平目标的权衡和实现。深化财税体制改革要坚持社会主义市场经济改革方向，完善体制机制和调节政策，充分发挥市场机制作用，更好激发各方面积极性，实现资源配置效率最优化和效益最大化。同时，要统筹促进规则公平、机会公平、结果公平，打破利益固化、阶层固化的藩篱，规范财富积累机制，加大税收、社会保障、转移支付等调节力度，更好地让广大人民群众共享改革发展成果.
Correctly handle the relationship between the overall situation and the local situation. Deepening reform requires the establishment of a national chess game, building consensus, forming a joint force. Resolutely implement the deployments and requirements outlined by the Party Central Committee on strengthening the overall planning of financial resources and budgets, standardizing preferential tax policies, increasing general transfer payments, and improving the government debt management system, so as to prevent and overcome the phenomenon of being fragmented or isolated policies or policies that hinder or constrain each other. It is necessary to enhance the awareness of the overall situation and holistic concepts, uphold and practice the correct view of political achievements, resolutely prevent the practice of disorderly borrowing for construction, standardise investment attraction behaviour, oppose local protectionism, and ensure that the orders of the Party Central Committee are strictly followed and prohibitions are enforced.” 正确处理全局与局部的关系。财税体制改革涉及面广，政策性强，必然会触及一些地区、单位的局部利益。深化改革需要树牢全国一盘棋思想，凝聚共识，形成合力，坚决落实党中央关于加强财政资源和预算统筹、规范税收优惠政策、增加一般性转移支付、完善政府债务管理制度等部署要求，防止和克服各行其是、相互掣肘的现象。要增强全局意识和整体观念，坚持和践行正确政绩观，坚决防止无序举债搞建设的做法，规范招商引资行为，反对地方保护，确保党中央令行禁止。
Correctly handle the relationship between the long-term and the present. The reform of the fiscal and taxation system should coordinate the promotion of short-term fiscal stability and long-term sustainability. We should grasp the main contradictions and the main aspects of the contradictions, clarify the order of priority, grasp the timing and effectiveness, combine the long-term and short-term, and overcome difficulties. We must focus on the present, methodically implementing reform measures for which conditions are currently met, and strive to resolve bottlenecks and obstacles in economic and fiscal operations. At the same time, we must look to the long term, profoundly grasp the new requirements of domestic and international situation developments, actively identify and seek changes, and plan to promote the construction of long-term mechanisms. We must adhere to the principle of doing our best within our capabilities, basing the protection and improvement of people’s livelihoods on sustainable economic development and fiscal capacity, and continuously improving people’s living standards. 正确处理长远与当前的关系。财税体制改革要统筹促进短期财政稳定和长期可持续性。要抓住主要矛盾和矛盾的主要方面，明确优先序，把握时度效，远近结合，攻坚克难。既要立足当前，有条不紊地抓好当下具备条件的改革举措落地，着力解决经济财政运行中的堵点卡点问题；又要着眼长远，深刻把握国内外形势发展新要求，积极识变求变，谋划推动长远机制建设。要坚持尽力而为、量力而行，把保障和改善民生建立在经济发展和财力可持续的基础之上，不断提高人民生活水平.
In the final section, Han outlines four key tasks:
First, improve the budget system. Under this, he makes six points:
Strengthen the coordination of fiscal resources and budgets. Incorporate all income derived from administrative power, government credit, and state-owned resources and assets into government budget management, enhancing the budget’s ability to guarantee the implementation of major party and state policies. Improve the state-owned capital operation budget and performance evaluation system, and strengthen the financial support for major national strategic tasks and basic people’s livelihood.
Strengthen macro-guidance on budget preparation and fiscal policy, reflecting the strategic intentions of the Party Central Committee throughout the budget preparation and execution process. Improve the expenditure standards system, establish and perfect a dynamic adjustment mechanism to provide a scientific basis for budget preparation. Deepen zero-based budgeting reform, breaking the concept of ‘base figures’ and the rigid pattern of expenditure. Enhance the counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical regulation of fiscal policy.
Unify budget allocation rights, improve the uniformity and standardisation of budget management. Prevent and overcome the phenomenon of ‘money waiting for projects’, increase the rate of budget availability at the beginning of the year, promote the organic combination of budget arrangements and stock funds, increase the coordination of fiscal funds and structural adjustment of expenditures, standardise budget expenditure management across various fields, departments, and units, and reasonably determine the scale of budget revenue and expenditure in line with actual conditions.
Deepen the reform of budget performance management. Strengthen public service performance management, enhance pre-implementation functional assessments. Improve the budget performance evaluation system, strengthen the application of evaluation results. Emphasise maintaining the basics and holding the bottom line, resolutely implement the requirement for Party and government organs to tighten their belts, and eliminate phenomena such as wasteful spending and extravagance.
Improve the budget disclosure and supervision system and improve the quality of budget disclosure work.
Improve the accrual-based government comprehensive financial reporting system, strengthen data analysis and application. Improve the financial supervision system, strictly enforce financial discipline, and continuously enhance the effectiveness of fiscal management.
一是加强财政资源和预算统筹。把依托行政权力、政府信用、国有资源资产获取的收入全部纳入政府预算管理，增强预算对落实党和国家重大政策的保障能力。完善国有资本经营预算和绩效评价制度，强化国家重大战略任务和基本民生财力保障。二是强化对预算编制和财政政策的宏观指导，将党中央战略意图体现到预算编制和执行的全过程。健全支出标准体系，建立完善动态调整机制，为预算编制提供科学依据。深化零基预算改革，打破“基数”观念和支出固化僵化格局。加强财政政策逆周期和跨周期调节。三是统一预算分配权，提高预算管理统一性、规范性。防止和克服“钱等项目”的现象，提高年初预算到位率，推进预算安排与存量资金的有机结合，加大财政资金统筹和支出结构调整力度，规范各领域、部门和单位预算支出管理，结合实际合理确定预算收支规模。四是深化预算绩效管理改革。加强公共服务绩效管理，强化事前功能评估。完善预算绩效评价制度，强化评价结果运用。突出保基本、守底线，坚决落实党政机关过紧日子要求，杜绝大手大脚花钱、奢靡浪费等现象。五是完善预算公开和监督制度，提高预算公开工作质量。六是完善权责发生制政府综合财务报告制度，强化数据分析应用。完善财会监督体系，严肃财经纪律，不断提升财政管理效能.
Second, improve the tax system. “Focus on constructing a tax system conducive to high-quality development, social equity, and market unification. Optimize the tax structure to better fulfill the functions of raising fiscal revenue, regulating economic operations, and adjusting income distribution.”
Under this, he makes five points:
Fully implement the principle of tax legalization, standardize preferential tax policies, and improve support mechanisms for key areas and crucial links. Study and develop a tax system that adapts to new business models, promoting and regulating digital and green development. Reasonably reduce the overall costs and tax burdens for the manufacturing industry.
Improve the direct tax system. Perfect the individual income tax system that combines comprehensive and graded approaches, standardise tax policies for business income, capital gains, and property income, and implement unified taxation on labour income.
Improve the local tax system. Advance the shift of consumption tax collection to later stages and gradually delegate it to local authorities, refine the value-added tax refund policy and deduction chain. Study the merger of urban maintenance and construction tax, education surcharge, and local education surcharge into a local surcharge tax, authorising local governments to determine specific applicable tax rates within a certain range. Improve the property tax system.
Perfect the green tax system. Fully implement the conversion of water resource fees into taxes and reform the environmental protection tax. Enhance VAT, consumption tax, corporate income tax, and other related policies to promote green development and advance green and low-carbon development.
Deepen the reform of tax collection and administration, enhancing the standardisation, convenience, and precision of tax law enforcement.
健全税收制度。着眼于构建有利于高质量发展、社会公平、市场统一的税收制度，优化税制结构，更好发挥税收制度筹集财政收入、调控经济运行、调节收入分配功能。一是全面落实税收法定原则，规范税收优惠政策，完善对重点领域和关键环节支持机制。研究与新业态相适应的税收制度，促进和规范数字化、绿色化发展。合理降低制造业综合成本和税费负担。二是健全直接税体系。完善综合和分类相结合的个人所得税制度，规范经营所得、资本所得、财产所得税收政策，实行劳动性所得统一征税。三是健全地方税体系。推进消费税征收环节后移并稳步下划地方，完善增值税留抵退税政策和抵扣链条。研究把城市维护建设税、教育费附加、地方教育附加合并为地方附加税，授权地方在一定幅度内确定具体适用税率。完善房地产税收制度。四是完善绿色税制。全面推行水资源费改税，改革环境保护税。完善增值税、消费税、企业所得税等有关促进绿色发展政策体系，推动绿色低碳发展。五是深化税收征管改革，增强税务执法的规范性、便捷性和精准性.
Third, improve the fiscal system. Under this, Han calls to “rationalise the fiscal relationship between the central and local governments, and accelerate the formation of a stable system in which the powers and expenditure responsibilities of governments at all levels are compatible with their financial resources”. He then makes five points:
Clearly delineate fiscal powers and expenditure responsibilities between central and local governments. Appropriately strengthen central fiscal powers and increase the proportion of central fiscal expenditure. In principle, the central government's fiscal responsibilities should be funded directly by the central budget, reducing the delegation of central fiscal responsibilities to local governments. It is forbidden to illegally require local governments to arrange matching funds. If it is necessary to entrust local governments with powers, funds should be arranged through special transfer payments.
Optimise the division of revenue between central and local governments. Increase local financial autonomy, expand local tax sources, and appropriately expand local tax administration authority. Optimise the sharing ratio of shared taxes in conjunction with tax system reform. Improve the collaborative mechanism for the orderly gradient transfer of industries within the country, promoting benefit-sharing between transferring and receiving regions. Standardise the management of non-tax revenue, appropriately delegate some non-tax revenue management authority to local governments for differentiated management based on actual conditions.
Improve the fiscal transfer payment system. Review and standardise special transfer payments, increase general transfer payments, and enhance the matching degree between city and county financial resources and their responsibilities. Establish an incentive and constraint mechanism for transfer payments that promote high-quality development. Meanwhile, continue to advance fiscal system reform below the provincial level, optimise the distribution of financial resources below the provincial level, and effectively strengthen the financial guarantee for grassroots levels.
一是清晰划分中央与地方财政事权和支出责任。适当加强中央事权、提高中央财政支出比例。中央财政事权原则上通过中央本级安排支出，减少委托地方代行的中央财政事权。不得违规要求地方安排配套资金，确需委托地方行使事权的，通过专项转移支付安排资金。二是优化中央和地方收入划分。增加地方自主财力，拓展地方税源，适当扩大地方税收管理权限。结合税制改革优化共享税分享比例。完善产业在国内梯度有序转移的协作机制，推动转出地和承接地利益共享。规范非税收入管理，适当下沉部分非税收入管理权限，由地方结合实际差别化管理。三是完善财政转移支付体系。清理规范专项转移支付，增加一般性转移支付，提升市县财力同事权相匹配程度。建立促进高质量发展转移支付激励约束机制。同时，继续推进省以下财政体制改革，优化省以下财力分配，切实加强基层财力保障.
Fourth, Han calls to improve the government debt management system. Under this, he makes four points:
Accelerate the establishment of a government debt management mechanism compatible with high-quality development. Improve the classification and functional positioning of government debt, optimise the debt structure of the central and local governments, effectively meet the needs of macroeconomic regulation, and better support the implementation of major national strategic tasks.
Establish a comprehensive local debt monitoring and supervision system and a long-term mechanism for preventing and resolving hidden debt risks. Improve work coordination mechanisms and strengthen data sharing and application. Enhance source management, resolutely curb new hidden debt, and resolve existing hidden debt in an orderly manner. Strictly supervise and hold accountable those responsible for illegal and unlawful borrowing, implement a lifetime accountability system for local government borrowing and establish a debt issue retrospective investigation mechanism (落实地方政府举债终身问责制和债务问题倒查机制), and use typical cases as warnings.
Strengthen the management of local government special bonds. Reasonably expand the scope of support for local government special bonds, and appropriately expand the areas, scale, and proportion used as capital. Improve the debt limit allocation mechanism and strengthen the management of the entire life cycle of special bond funds borrowing, management, and repayment.
Accelerate the reform and transformation of local financing platforms. Strengthen comprehensive governance of financing platform companies, continuously standardise financing management, prohibit various forms of disguised borrowing, and promote the formation of a scientific management mechanism with clear boundaries between government and enterprises, clear responsibilities, and controllable risks.
一是加快建立同高质量发展相适应的政府债务管理机制。完善政府债务分类和功能定位，优化中央和地方政府债务结构，有效满足宏观调控需求，更好支持落实国家重大战略任务。二是建立全口径地方债务监测监管体系和防范化解隐性债务风险长效机制。健全工作协调机制，强化数据共享应用。加强源头治理，坚决遏制新增隐性债务，有序化解存量隐性债务。严格对违规违法举债问题监督问责，落实地方政府举债终身问责制和债务问题倒查机制，发挥典型案例警示作用。三是加强地方政府专项债券管理。合理扩大地方政府专项债券支持范围，适当扩大用作资本金的领域、规模、比例。完善债务限额分配机制，加强专项债券资金借用管还全生命周期管理。四是加快地方融资平台改革转型。加强对融资平台公司的综合治理，持续规范融资管理，禁止各种变相举债行为，推动形成政府和企业界限清晰、责任明确、风险可控的科学管理机制.