Press Release No. 16/133

Press Release: IMF and China’s State Administration of Taxation Strengthen Technical Cooperation on Tax Policy and Administration Reform in China

March 23, 2016

China’s State Administration of Taxation (SAT) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed today in Washington a Letter of Understanding (LOU) on a technical cooperation project on advancing tax policy and administration reform in China.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Carla Grasso made the following statement:

“China has made great strides in reforming and modernizing its tax system. I am proud of the excellent ongoing technical cooperation between China and the IMF, and pleased to sign this new agreement to continue our fruitful cooperation as China rolls out its full-scale transformation of the Business Tax to a Value Added Tax, and as China deepens its reform of the tax administration system.”

“The SAT and the IMF have had a long and productive history of technical cooperation in tax policy and administration. We look forward to strengthening our cooperation in the tax area, to support China’s tax modernization campaign and the implementation of China’s tax reform agenda in the 13^th Five-Year Plan,” Mr. Jun Wang, SAT Commissioner, said.

Background Information

Cooperation between the SAT and the IMF on tax matters dates back to the early 1990s. The IMF supported China’s tax reforms of 1994, and has continued its support of subsequent reforms. In May 2013, the SAT and the IMF entered into a three-year technical cooperation project that has helped the SAT design and implement important improvements in tax policy, tax modeling, and large business tax administration, as well as revisions of the Law on the Administration of Tax Collection. Following its successful implementation, the SAT and the IMF have decided to renew the project for an additional three-year period to provide further support to the implementation of China’s tax reform agenda in the 13^th Five-Year Period.