China says revised tax law benefits low-income people.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Beijing, 6 January: The revised personal income tax law has benefited up to 20 million medium-and low-income citizens, relieving them from tax burdens and helping promote social equality, according to the State Administration of Taxation (SAT).

SAT figures show that personal income tax revenue totalled 245.232bn yuan in 2006, up 17.1 per cent year-on-year, 11.8 percentage points lower than the growth rate of 2005. The threshold for personal income tax collection was raised from 800 yuan to 1,600 yuan as of Jan. 1, …