First, the legal basis of government level setting and the current trend and direction of government level reform.
(A) the legal basis for the establishment of government levels. Article 30 of the Constitution stipulates: "The administrative divisions of People's Republic of China (PRC) are as follows: (1) The whole country is divided into provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; (2) Provinces and autonomous regions are divided into autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties and cities; (3) Counties and autonomous counties are divided into townships, nationality townships and towns. Municipalities directly under the central government and larger cities are divided into districts and counties. Autonomous prefectures are divided into counties, autonomous counties and cities. " This is the legal basis for the establishment of China's government hierarchy. Judging from the above provisions, China's government hierarchy should be dominated by four levels, and some areas will have five levels. Due to the principle of "big cities are divided into counties", prefecture-level cities under the jurisdiction of counties have actually become first-level governments, forming a universal five-level government hierarchy. Correspondingly, a five-level government budget has also been formed.
(2) On the reform of local government level and local financial system. Considering that the five-level government structure does not adapt to the trend of flat management, China is constantly exploring the reform of government levels. The Opinions of the Central Committee of the State Council on the Reform of Local Government Institutions (Zhongfa [2008] 12) stipulates that the financial resources of local governments at all levels should be scientifically allocated according to the principle of matching financial resources with administrative powers, so as to enhance the ability of city (prefecture) and county (city) governments to provide public services. Continue to promote the reform of the financial system of counties (cities) directly under the jurisdiction of the province. Where conditions permit, we can explore the system of directly governing counties (cities) and further expand the social and economic management authority of county-level governments. In 2009, the Opinions of the Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Stable Development of Agriculture and Increasing Farmers' Income further proposed to steadily promote the pilot reform of strengthening counties by expanding power, encourage qualified provinces to take the lead in reducing administrative levels, and explore the system of directly taking over counties (cities) according to law. On this basis, the Ministry of Finance issued the Opinions on Promoting the Financial Reform of Counties Directly Administered by the Province (FB [2009] No.78), implemented the financial reform of counties directly administered by the province, and carried out related business work in intergovernmental revenue and expenditure division, transfer payment, capital exchange, budget and final accounts, and year-end settlement.
For the township government and financial management system, on the basis of the pilot, since 2006, in order to solve the outstanding problems such as the sharp decline in the scale of township financial revenue, the obvious narrowing of the scope of township financial expenditure, and the heavy debt burden, the reform of township financial county management has been carried out in accordance with the principle that the legal subject status of township government in managing finance remains unchanged, the ownership and use right of financial funds remain unchanged, and the creditor's rights and debts assumed by township government remain unchanged. At present, except for towns and villages with a certain industrial base, a large scale of fiscal revenue and expenditure and a certain level of management, rural fiscal county management has basically been realized.
Judging from the pilot reforms, such as the county directly administered by the province and the county administered by the township finance, the government level and financial system in China are influenced by factors such as the level of economic development, land area, location and resource endowment, population size and density, and the degree of urbanization. Although there will be no unique government hierarchy model, it basically clearly shows the reform trend and direction of four-level government and three-level finance. After some reform measures are put in place, they will eventually break through the existing legal provisions.
(3) The government level is the premise and basis for determining the relationship between government revenue and expenditure.
The hierarchical structure of government is restricted by many factors, such as economic development level, land area, location and resource endowment, population quantity and density, urbanization level and so on. The number of government levels is the most basic premise of intergovernmental expenditure responsibility and income division. Specifically, the number of government levels determines the division of income, expenditure responsibility, tax and non-tax revenue legislative power, project right and expenditure standard decision power among several levels of government. The level of government has a great influence on the division of administrative power and financial power. First, it is difficult to divide the government's multi-level powers, which leads to the difficulty in dividing the joint expenditure responsibility, and finally leads to the pattern that almost all the powers are borne by multi-level governments. Second, there are many levels of government, so it is impossible to divide income according to tax types, and it is difficult to form a pattern of tax types as the main financial body, which further affects the financial management autonomy of the first-level government.
Two, determine the legal basis for the functions and powers of local governments and the status quo of central and local governments.
(A) to determine the legal basis of local government power
1. Constitution. Article 107 of the Constitution stipulates that local people's governments at or above the county level shall, within the limits of authority prescribed by law, administer the administrative work of economy, education, science, culture, health, sports, urban and rural construction, finance, civil affairs, public security, ethnic affairs, judicial administration, supervision and family planning within their respective administrative areas. This is the fundamental legal basis for determining government power.
2. Organization Law of local people's congresses and local people's governments at all levels (hereinafter referred to as the government organization law). According to the provisions of the Constitution, the functions and powers of local governments are clearly defined. Article 59 of the Organic Law of the Government stipulates: "Local people's governments at or above the county level shall exercise the following functions and powers: ... (5) To implement the plans and budgets for national economic and social development, and manage the administrative work of economy, education, science, culture, health, sports, environmental and resource protection, urban and rural construction, finance, civil affairs, public security, ethnic affairs, judicial administration, supervision and family planning within their respective administrative areas.
Decision of the State Council on the Reform of Tax-sharing Financial Management System (Guo Fa [1993] No.85). Local finance mainly undertakes the expenses needed for the operation of local government organs and the expenses needed for the economic and career development of the region. Specifically, it includes: local administrative fees, public security fees, some armed police fees, militia fees, local overall capital construction investment, local enterprise technical transformation and new product trial production fees, agricultural support fees, urban maintenance and construction fees, local culture, education, health and other business fees, price subsidies and other fees.
As can be seen from the above-mentioned legal provisions, local governments in China basically belong to the full-fledged governments within their respective jurisdictions, and their powers are relatively clear. What is unclear is which level of government is dominant in the hierarchical structure of local governments, and the division and sharing ratio of responsibilities of local governments at all levels for the same affairs.
(B) the status quo of the relationship between the central and local governments at all levels.
Although laws and regulations stipulate the relationship between the central government and local governments at all levels, it is difficult to operate, especially the division and sharing ratio of responsibilities of local governments at all levels is not clear enough. In actual implementation, the higher-level government issued a policy to require the lower-level government to bear the expenditure responsibility, and the functions are isomorphic and overlapping. The central finance bears the responsibility of local affairs expenditure, and the higher-level finance transfers the responsibility of expenditure to the lower-level finance, and the allocation of funds from local finance to non-local budget units remains unresolved. For example, the new rural social endowment insurance (hereinafter referred to as the new rural endowment insurance) is under the responsibility of local governments according to law, but the central government stipulates that the subsidy standard of local governments shall not be lower than 30 yuan per person per year, and the central government will give full subsidies to 55 yuan per person per month in the central and western regions and 50% subsidies to the eastern region according to the basic pension standard determined by the central government. This situation exists in the fields of education, medical care, population and family planning, which makes the relationship between central and local governments and financial power in a random and chaotic state.
Three, according to the general logic of public finance, according to the demand orientation, calculate the financial resources necessary for local governments to perform their duties.
The present situation that the hierarchical structure of our government and the responsibilities of higher and lower governments are isomorphic and overlapping should be clarified as soon as possible. First of all, we should follow the principle that the grass-roots government is the main provider of public finance products and services, conform to the principle of benefit scope and cost efficiency, and allocate corresponding financial resources. On this basis, according to the general logic and demand orientation of public finance, the financial needs of governments at all levels to perform their functions are calculated.
(a) according to the general logic of public finance, demand-oriented, calculate the financial needs necessary for the government to perform its functions.
According to the budget law, the state implements the government-level budget. Local governments are in charge of economy, education, science, culture, health, sports, environmental and resource protection, urban and rural construction, finance, civil affairs, public security, ethnic affairs, judicial administration, supervision and family planning. According to the general logic of public finance and the financial demand orientation of performing their duties, public finance should first meet the necessary expenses of government personnel and institutions at the same level, that is, ensure wages and operating expenses; Secondly, meet the demand for equalization of basic public services such as education, science, culture, health, sports, employment, social security and family planning. That is, to protect people's livelihood and basic public services, the most important thing at present is to implement basic education services, labor employment services and other 65438+ in accordance with the requirements of national basic public service coverage level, security standards and expenditure responsibility. Finally, it is necessary to change the development mode, pay attention to ecological environment protection and green development, provide policy guidance for market players, and meet the expenditures of key projects such as balanced economic development, mainly in the economic and social fields where the market cannot effectively allocate resources, including strengthening public welfare undertakings and public infrastructure construction, protecting and improving the ecological environment, promoting economic and social development in underdeveloped areas, and promoting scientific and technological progress and high-tech industrialization.
We should pay attention to the following problems: with the virtualization of township finance, local grass-roots governments that exercise their functions and undertake economic and social development should be mainly county-level governments; With the promotion of the province directly governing the county, the provincial government should also concentrate the necessary financial resources and transfer payment scale to undertake the task of equalization of basic public services and coordinated regional development within its jurisdiction.
(two) in accordance with the principle of matching financial power with administrative power, follow the characteristics of tax types and their internal functions, and improve the division of government revenue and its ownership.
On the basis of clarifying the functions, powers and financial needs of local governments under the conditions of market economy, according to the principle of matching financial power and powers, combined with the characteristics of tax types and their internal functions, standardize the income division among governments. Adhere to the fiscal system to standardize the inter-governmental revenue and expenditure relationship, adjust the financial differences between regions by transfer payment, achieve balanced regional development, realize the equalization of basic public services and the development of main functional areas according to functions, further improve the tax-sharing fiscal system, and enable local governments to have stable and reliable fixed income to support performance needs. To this end, we should start from three aspects:
First, adhere to the integrity of the government budget and co-ordinate all government revenues. The matching of financial power and administrative power must be based on the fact that all funds managed by the government are included in a unified and perfect government budget system, and all government revenues such as public budget, government fund budget, state-owned capital operation budget, social security budget and debt budget are included in the scope of government financial accounting.
The second is to improve the legitimacy and stability of government revenue, clean up taxes and fees, and improve the tax system with optimized structure and fairness. In accordance with the requirements of facilitating the transformation, promoting the transformation and scientificization, cleaning up government funds and fees and reducing the name and scale of non-tax revenue, it is necessary to levy new taxes such as social security, resources and environment, change business tax into value-added tax as soon as possible, avoid the merger of repeated taxation, improve the legitimacy and stability of government revenue, and improve the tax system conducive to scientific development, comprehensive coverage, structural optimization and tax collection and management.
The third is to strengthen the scientific division of income ownership, rationally divide exclusive tax and * * * tax, and improve the local tax system. The division of income ownership should be adapted to the government's power system, follow the principle of matching financial power with power, closely combine the tax system reform and the "positive tax and fee clearing" reform, maintain but reduce the scale of * * * tax enjoyment on the basis of unified and complete classification of government income and taxes, and be consistent with tax ownership according to the main taxes, taxes and tax sources of governments at all levels, with balanced tax source flow and tax base distribution, and coordinated tax benefit scope and collection and management efficiency. Classify taxes closely related to ensuring the centralized financial resources of the central government and the normal operation of the national unified market and realizing comprehensive economic regulation as central taxes; Taxes that are conducive to giving full play to the advantages of local information and collection and management, suitable for local regulation, more suitable for grassroots functions, and more diverse are classified as local taxes.
Fourth, adhere to the direction of tax-sharing reform and further improve the ideas and steps of the tax-sharing financial system.
To adhere to the reform direction of the tax-sharing financial system, we must first adhere to the political viewpoint that the state finance is the material basis and financial guarantee for the country to implement scientific and effective governance, adhere to the adaptability of the financial system to the national conditions, state system, regime, fundamental political system, basic economic system and development stage, embody China characteristics, highlight institutional advantages, correctly handle the central relations between finance and politics, finance and economy, centralize and decentralize, government and market, and central and local governments, so as to serve the fundamental interests of the country and people.
On this basis, the government hierarchy plan is clearly defined, and the government hierarchy that mainly provides public goods and services and the relationship between government affairs and financial rights at all levels are clearly defined. Because the number of government levels directly affects the determination of government levels that mainly provide public goods and services, the determination of government levels that mainly provide public goods and services stipulates the focus and content of government revenue and expenditure division. Accordingly, we can consider two schemes and two paths, adhere to the reform direction of the tax-sharing financial system, and further improve the tax-sharing system.
First, the gradual reform plan. Its main points: First, all government revenues will be included in the budget. The second is to standardize and institutionalize the current incomplete tax base return and income tax sharing reform. The third is to institutionalize the current balanced transfer payment. Fourth, according to the change from business tax to value-added tax, the reform of resource tax, the pilot project in real estate tax reform and the progress, and the principle of matching financial power with administrative power, focusing on the adjustment of government revenue and expenditure relationship by fiscal system, improve the revenue sharing system between central and local governments at all levels.
Second, strengthen the top-level design and comprehensive reform plan. Mainly include: First, within the complete and unified scope of government revenue and expenditure, adhere to the political nature of state finance, adhere to the direction of tax-sharing reform, adhere to the principle of regulating the relationship between government revenue and expenditure with the fiscal system, and scientifically calculate the matching scale of government expenditure responsibility and financial resources at all levels according to the principle of matching financial power with administrative power, so as to improve the tax-sharing financial system; According to the requirements of consolidating and strengthening the socialist multi-ethnic unified state power, promoting balanced regional development, realizing the equalization of basic public services and the construction of main functional areas, the scale, structure and proportion of transfer payment should be reasonably determined, and the phenomenon of isomorphism and overlapping of existing intergovernmental functions should be changed from the institutional level. Second, combining the reform of government levels, improving the tax system, and clearing up taxes and fees, according to the principle of tax characteristics and easy collection and management, we will reduce the tax categories and scale, increase the exclusive tax categories and scale, and improve the local tax system.