The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.
All websites find and delete the article “State Administration of Taxation Official: U.S. Tax Reform Lacks the Responsibility of Power.” (April 28, 2017) [Chinese]
From the article in question, which surveyed state media reporting on the head of China’s State Administration of Taxation’s comments regarding the proposed U.S. tax reform:
Friday, April 28, 2017
(United Zaobao News Network) The U.S. Trump administration on April 26 launched an “unprecedented” tax reform plan, which would bring the corporate income tax rate from about 35% down to 15%. The People’s Daily on April 28 commented that, from the perspective of other countries, the U.S. tax cuts could provoke a taxation war.
An April 28 report from ThePaper.cn interviewed State Administration of Taxation Director General Liao Tizhong, who said that while the U.S. tax reform is within the sovereignty of the United States, in the era of economic globalization sovereign policy can have a spillover effect. “We do not advocate a country’s sovereign policy formulation that doesn’t consider other countries, that only considers its self. We believe this is a mistake, and we unequivocally oppose this tax collection competition. We advocate for international cooperation and coordination. This is not only the point of view of China, but also that of all national leaders of the G20 Hangzhou Summit,” said Liao Tizhong.
“Of course, in terms of legality, taxation is a sovereign matter, and Trump can cut taxes, but a great power should undertake its due responsibility. China is the world’s second largest economy, we don’t conduct our affairs irresponsibly, and neither should the leader of the largest power. Therefore we call on the entire world for cooperation and development with an awareness of common interests,” Liao said. [Chinese]
While the United Zaobao article quoted above appears to still be accessible, the article from ThePaper.cn that it cited is currently offline. The People’s Daily commentary warning of a possible taxation war is still online.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.
