300,000 tax police on way, says paper
China is to set up a 300,000-strong armed police force to enforce tax collection and stop violence against collectors, a Beijing-funded Hong Kong newspaper reported.
Wen Wei Po said the force would be set up under the Ministry of Public Security, with an initial complement of 67,000 to rise to 300,000.
Officials at the ministry and the National Tax Bureau declined to comment.
The bureau already has officers to enforce its judgments, but they have to act with the police to make arrests, which limits their ability. Tax evasion is widespread and violence against collectors common. Tax revenues made up 14 per cent of GDP last year, substantially lower than in developed countries.
In 1994, Beijing reformed its tax system, moving from the planned economy when nearly all taxes were collected from state companies to one in which taxes are collected from individuals and firms.
This has succeeded in increasing the proportion each year since then, with a total tax revenue last year of 1,068 billion yuan (HK$993 billion), a 77 per cent rise on 1995. A main element of the tax reform is increasing the proportion paid to the central Government.
One Beijing economist said the establishment of the tax police was a waste of public money. He said the tax bureau already had an enforcement department which worked in tandem with the police, but alleged it had failed because of corrupt officials.
