China has decided to abolish agricultural tax as of 2006, three
years ahead of its five-year schedule, the State Administration of
Taxation said.
China's top legislature late last year adopted a motion to
rescind the country's 2,600-year-old agricultural tax starting from
Jan. 1, 2006.
The administration said China began to phase out agricultural
tax to reduce farmers' financial burden as early as 2000.
The tax reform helped reduce farmers' tax burden by 22 billion
yuan (US$2.7 billion) in 2005, and 23.4 billion yuan (US$2.8
billion) during the period from 2001 to 2004, the administration
said.
Only three of the 31 provincial level areas on the Chinese
mainland collected agricultural tax in 2005, while 28 others had
abolished the tax.
The tax overhaul was designed to narrow the widening income gap
between the rural and urban residents, including about 800 million
rural people.
During the more than 2,000 years, agricultural tax was always
the main source of the country's coffers. Since the founding of the
People's Republic of China in 1949, agriculture has made great
contribution to the country's economic development.
(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2006)