特朗普减税承诺令中国审视本国企业税负

US president Donald Trump’s pledge to cut corporate taxes has triggered a debate across the Pacific about the taxes and fees China levies on businesses and whether those could leave the manufacturing colossus uncompetitive in future.

美国总统唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)关于要削减企业税的承诺在太平洋对岸引发了一场争论，争论焦点是中国对企业征收的税费、以及这些税费是否会令这个制造业大国在未来丧失竞争力。

The attention comes amid a revamp of the country’s tax structures that for now would increase the budget deficit, yet long-term aims to channel more tax revenues to local governments, reducing their unstable reliance on land sales and ad hoc fees to meet budget needs.

目前中国正在进行税收结构改革，虽然改革暂时会增加预算赤字，但长期目标是将更多税收导入地方政府，降低它们对卖地收入和为满足预算需求而进行临时收费的不稳定依赖。

Chinese officials are scrutinising Mr Trump’s proposals following pledges to revamp the US tax code and keep manufacturing jobs at home by imposing steep tariffs on imports from China. So far, the only proposal from the White House has been for a “border adjustment tax” to be levied on imports to the US.

在特朗普承诺要改革美国税法、并通过对从中国进口的商品征收高额关税来将制造业工作留在国内之后，中国官员正密切关注特朗普提出的方案。到目前为止，白宫提出的唯一方案就是对进口商品征收“边境调整税”。

“The fact is, with or without Trump our tax rate is too high,” said Sheng Hong, director of the Unirule Institute of Economics, an independent think-tank. Its report late last year on China’s “death tax rate” found that Chinese corporate taxes reached as much as 45.6 per cent when factoring in additional fees levied by local governments, social security payments and other royalties.

独立智库天则经济研究所(Unirule Institute of Economics)所长盛洪表示：“事实上，无论有没有特朗普，我们的税率都太高了。”去年底该所发布中国“死亡税率”报告，认为若计入地方政府征收的额外费用、社会保障金以及其他使用费，中国企业税率可高达45.6%。

China and the US are not the only countries worrying about their tax competitiveness. The UK has floated the idea of becoming an offshore tax haven to maintain its investment appeal after it leaves the EU. In May, Australia outlined plans to cut company tax rates from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the next decade to try to become a more competitive location for foreign investment. The policy has been criticised by the centre-left Labor party and is likely to be blocked in parliament.

担心税收竞争力的国家不止有中国和美国。英国已提议成为离岸避税港，以便在离开欧盟后维持其投资吸引力。去年5月澳大利亚公布纲要计划，未来十年将把企业税率从30%降至25%，从而成为更具竞争力的外国投资目的地。这项政策一直遭到中左翼政党工党(Labor party)批评，很可能在议会内受阻。

“Generally, we see the ministry of commerce and the provincial-level governments remain very keen to attract investment from multinationals,” said Alan Beebe, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. “They’re trying to make China more competitive, not just for foreign companies but for Chinese companies as well.”

中国美国商会(American Chamber of Commerce)会长艾伦•毕比(Alan Beebe)表示：“总体来说，我们认为商务部和地方政府仍然非常渴望吸引跨国公司投资。他们努力让中国变得更具竞争力，这不仅是对外国企业而言，对中国企业也一样。”

Premier Li Keqiang raised the issue at a state cabinet meeting this year. “Voices are saying corporate taxes are too high,” he said, acknowledging the arbitrary assessment of fees by local governments.

中国总理李克强在今年召开的国务院常务会议上提出了这个问题，称“最近有声音认为企业税负过高”，承认了地方政府随意核收费用。

Piling on corporate taxes and fees has become a safety net for cash-strapped local governments, which also leaned heavily on land sales for revenues at the peak of China’s economic boom. The practice began in the 1990s after a tax revamp funnelled more revenue to the national government in Beijing, leaving local governments to fall back on creative substitutes to balance budgets.

大肆向企业征收税费已成为手头紧张的地方政府的安全网。在中国经济最繁荣时期，地方政府还严重依赖卖地收入。这种做法始于20世纪90年代，当时的税改让更多收入流入北京的中央政府，地方政府只得求助于创造性替代品以平衡预算。

“The tax burden by itself isn’t that heavy. But if you add in the fees and other factors then it is a different picture. Different departments, jurisdictions, industries all have different levels. Many companies, especially in certain areas, pay quite a lot,” said Zhao Xijun of Renmin University’s school of finance.

中国人民大学(Renmin University)财政金融学院的赵锡军表示：“税负本身没有那么重。但如果加上各种收费和其他因素，就是另一番景象了。不同的部门、司法辖区、行业的水平全都不同。许多企业、特别是某些地区的企业，税负相当高。”

The tax debate flared in December after one of the largest Chinese investors in the US said “deadly” Chinese taxes had forced him to transfer some of his glass production business to Ohio. Cao Dewang of Fuyao Glass told media in December that China’s tax burden is “35 per cent higher” than that in the US, sparking a rebuke from a government tax bureau. He was later forced to say his business is still “centred in China”.

去年12月，中国在美国最大投资者之一表示过高的中国税负迫使他将部分玻璃生产业务转移到俄亥俄州，此事引爆了一场税收争论。福耀玻璃(Fuyao Glass)的曹德旺去年12月向媒体表示中国的税负比美国“高出35%”，此言招致政府税务部门的谴责。曹德旺后来不得不表示，他的事业重心仍在中国。