Chinese vice premier stresses global taxation cooperation

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Worldwide taxation cooperation should be boosted to accelerate development of the global economy, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said on Wednesday.

China pays much attention to global cooperation on tax collection to fight international tax avoidance and help developing countries improve their taxation capacities, Zhang said at the opening ceremony of the Tenth Meeting of the OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) in Beijing.

This year's meeting focuses on the implementation of new international tax rules.

Taxation is a key foundation of government, and a key tool for global economic governance. Global cooperation should be boosted to protect various countries' interests and facilitate economic growth, Zhang said.

More should be done to fight international tax avoidance and support developing countries in building taxation capacities, he noted.

A key reform for China's taxation was to substitute business taxes with value-added taxes, Zhang said.

From May 1, the transition that began in 2012 in certain industries, was applied to the remaining four sectors -- construction, consumer services, finance and real estate. After the transition, tax burdens should go down, Zhang said.

China has a taxation system favorable to entrepreneurship and innovation, he added.

This is the first time for China to host FTA, the world's top meeting on tax administration. The meeting is one of a series of events related to the G20 Hangzhou summit in September.