Reforms Spur Growth In Numbers Of China’s Certified Tax Agents

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

24 February 2005

Ongoing reforms aimed at cutting back state intervention in administrative and non-essential economic affairs have led to rapid growth in the number of certified tax agents now practising in China, according to a report in the state media.

Figures released this week by the Chinese Certified Tax Agents Association (CCTAA) have revealed that there are now 62,000 certified agents in China, including 20,000 practitioners, the Xinhua news service reported.

Since the Association was founded a decade ago, Li Yonggui, CCTAA president, believes that there are now around 2,860 tax agents’ offices spread across China, which are employing a total of 60,000 employees.

Qian Guanlin, deputy director general of the State General Administration for Taxation, cites ongoing administrative reforms, which have sought to limit the Central Government’s influence in administrative functions while delegating certain economic tasks to business groups, as having created opportunities for growth in the tax agent sector.

He also observed that the continuing liberalisation of the wider Chinese economy will ensure that demand for these services will continue to grow, adding that competition for business is likely to intensify when the government opens up the sector to foreign firms in 2006.

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