Beijing has drafted a five-point plan which will reduce about 80 per cent of the numerous, often arbitrary, local fees in a bid to fight corruption and increase the central Government's tax revenue.
Under the plan, proposed by the joint committee of the Ministry of Finance and the State Development and Planning Commission, fees levied annually by local authorities would be cut from more than 400 billion yuan (HK$372 billion) to, at most, 80 billion yuan, yesterday's Guangzhou Daily reported.
Enterprises and peasants in many parts have complained of paying unreasonably high fees. Beijing has said some locally levied charges should become national taxes which would help reduce the central budget deficit.
Premier Zhu Rongji ordered the ministries to review the situation immediately after he formed his cabinet in March.
The plan will scrap more than 25 per cent of levies, those considered arbitrary or unreasonable.
Its second part deals with fees which do not give payers direct benefits. Such fees, including tolls, would be turned into taxes, the newspaper said. The planned fuel tax, to be levied next year, was a breakthrough, it said.
