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Our reporter Du Lijuan reports from Beijing

With the release of various economic data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the national economic operation in the first half of the year was officially announced. According to the data, from January to June this year, the total profit of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide was 3,511.03 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%; the per capita disposable income of residents nationwide was 20,733 yuan, a nominal increase of 5.4% year-on-year, and an actual increase of 5.3% after deducting price factors.

However, behind the increase in corporate profits and residents' income, the growth rate of tax revenue has declined year-on-year, which has attracted much attention from the market.

According to statistics from the State Administration of Taxation, in the first half of this year, the corporate income tax and personal income tax revenues organized by the tax authorities were 2.5371 trillion yuan and 760.2 billion yuan respectively, both down 5.5% year-on-year.

Regarding the "one increase and one decrease" of the two sets of data, Huang Lixin, director of the Institute of Taxation Science of the State Administration of Taxation, explained that the profits of large-scale enterprises increased, but tax revenue did not increase accordingly. This was mainly due to the increase in the amount of tax exemptions and reductions enjoyed by enterprises under tax preferential policies and the substantial increase in the amount of losses made up by enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. After excluding the above factors, tax revenue increased slightly year-on-year, so the two are not contradictory.

"Overall, the tax data and the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics are essentially matched after eliminating the differences in statistical caliber. These indicators objectively reflect the current operating trends of my country's economic and social development," said Huang Lixin.

Although corporate income tax revenue decreased year-on-year, the relevant declaration data results were still relatively optimistic, which provided more evidence for Huang Lixin's explanation.

According to corporate income tax declaration data, in the first half of this year, the operating income of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 3.3% year-on-year, an increase of 2.4 percentage points over the same period last year. Among them, the total profit increased by 3.7% year-on-year, an increase of 17.1 percentage points over the same period last year.

The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of 2023 required the implementation of structural tax and fee reduction policies, with a focus on supporting scientific and technological innovation and the development of the manufacturing industry. The tax authorities have thoroughly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and implemented various tax and fee preferential policies in detail.

Statistics show that in the first half of this year, the amount of tax benefits applied for by industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide for high-tech enterprises increased by 9.3% year-on-year; the amount of tax-free income and R&D expense deductions applied for increased by 3.2% year-on-year, of which the amount of tax-free income from dividends increased by 8.4% year-on-year. In addition, the amount of pre-tax compensation for losses in previous years by industrial enterprises above designated size in the first half of the year increased by 12.8% year-on-year.

"If we exclude the impact of tax incentives and loss compensation factors, corporate income tax revenue in the first half of the year increased by 3.6% year-on-year. This figure basically matches the profit growth. This shows that with the support of a series of tax and fee preferential policies, the tax burden of enterprises has been reduced, and there are obvious signs of lightening the burden," Huang Lixin explained.

Similar to the situation with corporate income tax, the main reason why residents' income has increased but personal income tax has decreased is that personal income tax has increased the standards for three special additional deductions, such as children's education and support for the elderly.

China Business News reporter learned that in August last year, the State Council raised the special additional deduction standards for infant care under the age of 3, children's education, and support for the elderly. At present, the special additional deduction standard for infant care under the age of 3 has been raised from 1,000 yuan per month for each infant to 2,000 yuan; the special additional deduction standard for children's education has been raised from 1,000 yuan per month for each child to 2,000 yuan; the special additional deduction standard for support for the elderly has been raised from 2,000 yuan per month to 3,000 yuan, of which only children can deduct a fixed amount, and non-only children share with brothers and sisters, and the amount shared by each person cannot exceed 1,500 yuan per month.

These adjustments will be implemented from January 1, 2023. While reducing the burden of family expenses for childbirth, raising children and supporting the elderly, they will also better protect and improve people's livelihood. According to the State Administration of Taxation, the amount of these three special additional deductions increased by more than 40% year-on-year in the first half of this year. As a result, the growth rate of individual income tax on wages and salaries has declined year-on-year.

Huang Lixin explained that in addition to the impact of the above three special additional deduction standards, the decline in personal income tax revenue from the transfer of equity, housing and other property is also a reason for the year-on-year decline in personal income tax growth. Data shows that in the first half of this year, this part of income fell by more than 20%.

Based on these reasons, Huang Lixin said that both statistical data and tax data show that with the support of various macro-control policy measures, the profits of industrial enterprises above the designated size and residents' income have achieved steady growth in the first half of the year, which shows that my country's economy continues to recover and improve.

(Editor: Wu Jing, Reviewer: Du Lijuan, Proofreader: Zhang Guogang)