The Administrative Foundations of the Chinese Fiscal State

First systematic study of Chinese taxation, applying novel legal and economic analyses - an essential reference on the subject.

Wei Cui (Author)

9781108812153, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 July 2023

302 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.442 kg

'In his [remarkable] book…Cui composes a detailed picture of an organized modern tax system that does not depend on rule of law. Yet the Chinese fiscal system is neither a dissolute mess nor a top-down exercise of discretionary power…This is more than a story about tax farming or crony Communism … Cui's observations are valuable and thought-provoking for the study of any jurisdiction's tax system.' Susan C. Morse, Florida Tax Review

On subjects ranging from trade to democratization, there has lately been a wave of laments about China's development belying Western expectations. Yet these disappointments often come with misunderstandings of the very institutions that China was expected to adopt. Chinese taxation offers a sharp illustration. When China introduced a tax system suited for the market economy, it fully intended tax collection to rely on self-assessment, audits, and the rule of law. But this Western approach was quickly jettisoned in favour of one that emphasized monitoring of taxpayers and ex ante interventions, at the expense of deterrence and truthful reporting norms. The Chinese approach surprisingly matches recommendations made by recent economic scholarship on tax compliance and state capacity. China's massive but little-known explorations in taxation highlight the distinct types of modern state capacity, and raise challenging questions about the future of taxation and the superiority of institutions based on rule of law.

List of figures and tables
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1. The forgotten reform
2. What is an audit?
3. Atomistic coercion
4. Returning responsibilities to taxpayers
5. Organizing revenue
6. Policymaking without information
7. The rhetoric of law
8. Varieties of state capacity
9. Pivoting away from the rule of law
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Taxation [KFFD1], Public finance [KFFD]