Fiscal revenues post strong growth in Nov (2)

"Local tax bureaus are stricter about levying taxes when they are under pressure to meet their targets," said Zhu Weiqun, a professor at the School of Public Economics and Administration of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

"The fast growth of tax revenues indicates the central government's efforts to cut taxes this year have not been put into practice," said Hao Yufeng, research director at China Enterprise Confederation.

In the first three quarters of this year, non-tax revenues grew substantially and the rate of growth even surpassed that for tax revenues in 10 provinces including Anhui, Guangdong and Jiangsu, the 21st Century Business Herald reported in October.

More than 70 percent of the enterprises in Zhejiang Province believe taxes and fees are too high, the report said, citing a recent survey conducted by Zhejiang Federation of Industry and Commerce.

The central government expanded the program to replace business tax with value-added tax for some sectors earlier this year. It started in Shanghai and was also implemented in eight more pilot cities in August.

To alleviate the tax burden for enterprises, policymakers should also consider lowering the value-added tax rate, which is currently set at 13 percent for some sectors and 17 percent for others, and focus on more direct taxes targeting profit rather than sales or consumption, said Zhu of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

In spite of the fast growth in November, total fiscal revenue for the first 11 months reached 10.9 trillion yuan, representing growth of 11.9 percent year-on-year, 14.9 percentage points lower than last year.