Reform government to relieve company burdens

Relieving the financial burdens of companies is a process of self-revolution for the government, which will be difficult, but beneficial for the national economy, says an article in Southern Metropolis Daily. Excerpts:

Premier Li Keqiang presided over a State Council conference on May 30 in Beijing, after which a statement was issued that said the government would further reduce and regulate the fees collected from companies and lower such enterprises’ financial burdens.

The central government has vowed to do this several times in recent years. It is very difficult to reduce government intervention in the market and economy, because the process will affect vested interests. The government needs to stop its excessive interference with the market if China is to transform the government’s role and restructure its economy.

The conference was meaningful because it highlighted not only why cutting government intervention is important, but also how it should be done.

The government should abolish unnecessary fees and rely more on taxes, which must be open to scrutiny from the public and the legislature, within a legal framework. The government should establish a “negative list” for all enterprise fees that will make the supervision of fee-collection more transparent and effective.

Illegal intermediary agencies must also be eradicated.

This would be a self-revolution for the government. It is necessary for the State Council to build a feedback and reporting system for enterprises to inform the relevant watchdogs about any misbehavior or arbitrary fees from government bodies.