Administrator Xiao Jie Wrote an Article to Stress: Make Great Efforts to Provide Taxpayers with Satisfactory Services

Not long ago, a taxpayer's message left on "Message Board for Leaders of Ministries and Commissions" on People's Daily Online leaves the tax authorities in deep meditation: it reads: May we taxpayers live with dignity. This reminds me of the remarks by Charles O Rossotti, former head of Internal Revenue Service (US): "It's unbelievable that taxpayers receive excellent service in the bank, but are bullied in the taxation bureau." This taxpayer of our country differs from Mr. Rossotti in nationality and social status, but both of them express a common aspiration, i.e. taxation authorities should provide taxpayers with satisfactory services, protect taxpayers' legal rights and interests and maintain taxpayers' dignity. Vicissitudes of tax payment service development
Due to the differences in development of social history, democracy and the legal system, market economy, etc., our country and western developed countries developed their own understanding and experienced their own practices in terms of taxation, especially tax payment service.
In the evolvement of human society forms, western developed countries entered the stage of capitalist society early. Since its appearance on the historic stage, the capitalism has advocated market economy, democracy and legal system, which directly affected the economic and social development. When it came to the taxation issue, William Petty, founder of UK Classical Political Economics in the 17th Century proposed that the taxation should be equal, simple and economical, i.e. the taxation should be impartial to anybody, the procedures should be simple for the convenience of taxpayers, and expenses on taxation and tax payment should be cut as possible. Adam Smith (UK), Adolf Wagner (Germany), etc. also presented such similar taxation principles. Under their influence, some countries stipulated in the Constitution that taxes shall be levied according to laws, which provided the regulation of taxation on the legal level.
However, the concept of tax payment service had been introduced much later than that of law-based taxation. Even in western countries, compulsory tax administration had played a dominant role for a long time, with slow response to taxpayers' service requirements and without effective measures to protect taxpayers' legitimate rights and interests. Since 1970s, with the rapid development of technological revolution, some developed countries launched a sensational "New Public Management Movement" to solve the social, political and economic crises. An important idea of this movement was that providing citizens with public products and services was both the inherent requirement imposed on the government due to the development of the market economy, and a basic function of the government: and that the "bureaucracy-oriented" government should be transformed into a "service-oriented" one so as to help citizens express and meet their common interests and demands. This provided a brand-new perspective for taxation authorities to consider the taxation administration and its relation with taxpayers.
As a result of this movement, many western countries newly specified the orientation of taxation work, and realize the significant transformation of concepts on taxation administration and tax payment services. Specifically speaking, the work should be done in service-oriented way instead of regulation-oriented way (implementation of mandatory supervision); taxpayers should be treated as served entities rather than supervised ones; and the tax payment services should combine the administrative service (the only service provided before) with socialized service. Accordingly, the tax payment service mode of developed countries was also changed remarkably; taxpayers were generally regarded as "clients"; and the service fields and contents got expanded and enriched. Through such measures as improvement of legislation and provision of legal aid, taxpayers' legal rights and interests could be effectively protected. The taxation procedures should be simplified so as to provide convenience for taxpayers.
In our feudal society lasted for more than 2,000 years, there also existed some progressive taxation ideas. Xun Kuang in the Warring States Period proposed the principles of increasing income and reducing expenditure, enriching the country and cutting the tax, etc. Fu Xuan in the Western Jin Dynasty advocated that tax burden should be rational, collection of taxes should be simplified and the tax and corvee system should be specified and fixed. Yang Yan in the Tang Dynasty carried out the Two-tax System, i.e. collecting tax based on lands and properties, which exemplified the principles of paying taxes based on the capacity and of convenient payment of taxes. Zhang Juzheng in the Ming Dynasty implemented the practice that taxes and corvees should be reduced to one and silvers could be paid as tax payment according to the acres of farmland, mirroring the great progress that had been achieved in the simplification of tax system and the payment mode. Although these propositions on taxation had played a positive role, masses of peasants were still subjected to exploitation in feudal societies, and they had never been treated equally or endowed with dignity.
Since the founding of the People' s Republic of China, the masses had become the master of the country; taxes were collected from the people and for the people, and the status of taxpayers changed radically. However, influenced by many factors such as institutions and old ideas, the relationship of collection and payment was actually the relationship between the administrator and the one being administrated, as well as between the supervisor and the supervisee for a very long period; and the statuses of taxation authorities and taxpayers were unequal in the process of tax collection and payment. This kind of administration idea and mode neglected the active roles of tax payment services in promoting taxpayers to voluntarily observe tax laws, and also brought considerable inconvenience for taxpayers.
Since the reform and opening-up, especially after the 1990s, and with the development of socialism market economy, rapid progress of democracy and the legal system and deepening reform of administrative system, tax authorities had developed new understanding of taxpayers' roles in the relationship of tax collection and payment. In 1997, the Plan on Deepening Reform of Collection and Administration forwarded to SAT by General Office of the State Council clearly pointed out that optimizing tax payment services should be taken as the groundwork for tax collection and administration. The new Tax Collection and Administration Law and its Implementing Regulations executed in 2001 presented further requirements to tax authorities for the purpose of improving tax payment services and protecting taxpayers' legal rights and interests, indicating that tax payment services had constituted an important part of administrative enforcement of taxation and become necessary legal liabilities.
Tax payment service work of our country steps into a new stage
Since the 16th CPC National Congress, the central government has put forward a series of major strategic thoughts in accordance with the development and changes of domestic and international situations. The 3rd Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of CPC proposed to uphold the scientific outlook on development; and the 17th CPC National Congress elaborated on the thorough application of the scientific outlook on development, with strong emphasis on the people-centered concept. The 6th Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of CPC put forward building a harmonious socialist society and stressed that social harmony is the essential attribute of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The 2nd Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of CPC proposed the opinions on deepening reform of administrative system, required to speed up the transformation of governmental functions and to pay more attention to public services, in a bid to establish and improve the public service system with appropriate level and sustainable development that was equal and just and could benefit all people. These major strategic thoughts and decisions armed tax authorities with powerful ideological weapons for establishing the principles of serving the scientific development and of collecting tax in a harmonious way as well as constantly achieving progress on tax payment service work.
Under the guide of the spirit of the central government, taxation authorities further proposed in practice that collectors and taxpayers were equal in terms of legal status, which was the basic rule for taxation from the law perspective. Taxpayers were not only subjects of duty who should pay taxes according to laws, but also objects receiving public services provided by governmental departments. Taxation authorities should respect taxpayers' status of equal party, and pay attention to protecting taxpayers' legal rights and interests while performing the rights of collecting taxes from taxpayers according to law. Meanwhile, it was specified that tax payment service and tax collection and administration were the core business of taxation authorities, highlighting that tax payment service played a leading and fundamental role in tax collection and administration.
In summer of 2009, the SAT convened the tax payment service working conference throughout the national tax system, specifying the guideline of tax payment service at present and in the coming period, and formulating an overall plan on strengthening and improving tax payment service work under the new situation. In terms of working concept, it put emphasis on firmly fostering awareness of equal legal status between collectors and taxpayers, insisted on impartial law enforcement to meet taxpayers' legitimate requirements. In terms of working requirement, the SAT proposed to do a good job in tax payment service based on laws and regulations and on the strength of IT-based administration, in an effort to suit taxpayers' rational requirements and to improve the observance of tax law. In terms of working measures, it brought forth intensifying tax law publicity and tax payment consultancy, improving tax payment service platform and enhancing the taxation services, protecting taxpayers' legal rights and interests, promoting the building of tax payment credit system so as to substantially improve the tax payment services. In terms of working objective, it was pointed out that intensified efforts should be made to promptly respond to demands of tax payment service, to greatly enhance the efficiency of tax payment service, and to make taxpayers' procedures for tax payment simple and their satisfaction continuously up.
At the end of 2009, Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC and Vice Premier visited the SAT to guide the taxation work; he pointed out that taxes were collected from the people, and thus should serve and benefit the people: and that the tax collection by tax authorities according to law not only made fortune for the country, but also was used for the people. The good tax payment services would help bring the taxpayers' initiatives of developing businesses into full play and enhance taxpayers' observance of tax laws, which was also in keeping with the principle of cumulating wealth for the country and collecting taxes for the people. He specially stressed that tax payment service was an integral part of transforming governmental functions and building service-oriented government. Taxation authorities should sum up the achievements and experience made in recent years, stick to the principle of improving both service and administration, constantly upgrade the mode of tax payment service and enrich tax payment service contents so as to better serve taxpayers.
In recent years, taxation authorities thoroughly carried out the major decisions made by the central government and important instructions by Vice Premier Li Keqiang by constantly improving and optimizing the work on tax payment service, and remarkable progress had been achieved. After conducting the satisfaction survey in 2008, the SAT entrusted again the third-party agency to conduct taxpayers' satisfaction survey for some taxation authorities in terms of tax law publicity, tax payment consultancy and guidance, tax approval, taxation enforcement, implementation of tax policies, taxation legal aid, etc. in 2010. The survey findings showed that taxpayers' overall satisfaction on tax payment service work by tax authorities nearly reached 80%, of which taxpayers' satisfaction with state tax authorities and local tax authorities in 2010 were better than those in 2008 respectively, which indicated that tax payment service work achieved new progress. However, the survey also found out some problems which should be given much attention. For example, some taxpayers suggested that tax authorities should further intensify the publicity of tax policies; some taxpayers were not satisfied with the unsmooth connection to hotline on tax payment consultancy; some taxpayers proposed that tax authorities should further simplify the tax payment procedures so as to relieve taxpayers' burden of going through the procedures, etc. All these problems showed that although tax payment service work has achieved some progress, there is still a long way to go for the purpose of meeting taxpayers' rational requirements and building service-oriented tax authorities. Taxation authorities should pertinently improve their work so as to constantly enhance taxpayers' satisfaction.
Strive to achieve new progress in the work of tax payment service
The 5th Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of CPC proposed that efforts should be made to push forward the reform of administrative system, to further transform the functions of government and to speed up the building of service-oriented government. Taxation authorities should, in accordance with the call of the central government, go with the development requirements of the times and taxpayers' expectation and substantially do a good job in tax payment service.
First, paying more attention to standardization of taxation enforcement. In order to enhance the compliance of tax laws, on the one hand taxpayers should increase the awareness of paying taxes honestly according to law and voluntarily discharge the obligation to pay taxes; on the other hand tax authorities should stick to the principle of law-based administration, regulate the behavior of law enforcement, and spur on and guide the taxpayers to voluntarily observe the tax laws. Therefore, the improvement of compliance of tax laws is the joint liabilities and obligations of tax authorities and taxpayers, and both tax collectors and taxpayers should voluntarily comply with tax laws. Taxation authorities at each level should exercise rights and perform duties within their stipulated scope of authority, strictly restrict the right of discretion in taxation enforcement, and endeavor to create the taxation environment favorable for fair competition for various market entities. Furthermore, intensified efforts should be made to improve the supervision of taxation enforcement, to proactively carry out the taxation enforcement responsibility system and to strengthen the enforcement assessment and fault investigation.
Second, focusing on the establishment of laws and regulations for protecting taxpayers' rights and interests. Taxation authorities should improve the current legal system of protecting taxpayers' rights and interests, and set up the expert demonstration and public hearing system before measures on tax reform and on adjustment of major tax policies are publicized, ensuring taxpayers' rights to know, to participate, to express and to supervise, and facilitating the taxation system to be easily observed by taxpayers. Meanwhile, taxation authorities should strengthen tax legal aid, earnestly conduct tax administrative review, litigation and compensation, etc., and solve the taxation disputes according to law. The publicity of governmental affairs should be greatly promoted so as to timely, fully and accurately disseminate such information as taxation laws and regulations as well as working procedures and strengthen the transparency of taxation work. Also, efforts should be made to improve the long-term effective mechanism of correcting harmful practices that damage taxpayers' interests.
Third, putting more emphasis on meeting taxpayers' legitimate requirements. It is necessary to start with taxpayers' needs, to satisfy their requirements and finally to facilitate their compliance, promoting the harmonious relation between tax collection and tax payment, and realizing taxpayers' voluntary observance of tax laws. Various rational requirements of taxpayers should be highly valued; and taxation authorities should on the one hand endeavor to meet their multilevel common requirements, on the other hand create conditions to meet personalized requirements of various taxpayers. Taxation authorities should constantly insist on the people-oriented concept and come up with more specific measures on tax payment service work from the perspective of taxpayers. In addition, taxation authorities should set up the quick response mechanism that can collect, analyze and meet taxpayers' requirements and make great efforts to open up a smooth channel for soliciting taxpayers' requirements, to establish a complete taxpayers' requirement analysis mechanism so as to effectively meet rational needs from taxpayers.
Fourth, attaching more importance to taxpayer-oriented optimization of tax collection and administration procedures and resource allocation. After taking taxpayers' actual conditions and rational requirements into consideration, taxation authorities should, actively utilize modernized technical means, simplify tax-related documents and tax payment procedures, shorten the time of tax payment in a bid to enhance the tax payment efficiency. The coordination and cooperation between inner departments of tax authorities, between state tax bureaus and local tax bureaus, as well as between tax authorities and outside departments should be furthered so as to relieve taxpayers' burden of going through tax payment procedures and to improve the resultant force of service. Apart from that, taxation authorities should continue to explore the department establishment and personnel allocation based on types of taxpayers so as to provide taxpayers with professional and personalized services.