Economics
China Needs More Tax Revenue, Risking Backlash From Middle Class
The wealthy would also object. Under the current system, only 10% of the population pays income tax.
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In the coming years, Xi Jinping will come under pressure to do something he’s never done before: oversee nationwide tax increases that could alienate China’s wealthy and its middle class.
The Chinese leader has presided over the largest tax cuts in the country’s history. Tax revenue equaled 21% of gross domestic product in 2021, compared with about 27% in the US. Less than 10% of China’s population pays any income tax at all.