WUHAN GOVERNMENT ISSUES AUTUMN AGRICULTURAL TAX REGULATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700050051-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 51
• Publication Date: March 10, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASS IFICAT4"N UO ?li i J.ni.
C ITY INFORMATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
COUNTRY
SUBJECT
HOW
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
Economic - Agriculture, tax regulations
Daily newspaper
Hankcw
29 Oct 1951
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,'he Wuhan Municipal Government, on 26 October 1951, issued a set of regu-
lations governing tax collection from farmers in the suburbs of the municipality.
The regulations, which follow, are based on an earlier set of provisional regula-
tions issued by the Central and South China Military and Administrative Commit-
tee.
Autumn tax collection shall be carried out in detail according to these
regulations in areas where land reform has not been carried out.
3. There will be only one collection of agricultural tax in 1951 (autumn)
and all taxes shall be collected in rice or its equivalent value in cash.
4. These regulations apply to the suburban areas of Hankow, Han-yang, and
Wu-ch'ang. (The agricultural tax will be substituted for the ground-production
tax in all Hankow suburbs but not in other areas.)
-1- GO F1DENTIAL
DATE DIST. /p Mar 1952
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
A set of regulations governing tax collection for 1951 in nonland
re?orm suburban areas has been issued by the Wuhan Municipal authori-
tie_. Rice or cash are the legal tender to be accepted. Other crops
Tray be converted into terms of rice. The regulations describe the
nean: of classification for purposes of assessment, exemptions for
special classes, methods of computation and assessment for family
groups. A basic exemption per capita of 120 shih chin fone shih chin
P7u'als 1.1 pc nds7 is allowed. Above that the tax is progressive
running from 3 percent to a maximum of 42 percent. A table of rates
appended.
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5. The ground unit for taxation purposes shall be the shih mou of 60
square shah chang. Where recent surveys have not been made, old terminology
such as shin and tou may be converted into modern units 5ne shih mou equals
0.1647 acres].
6. Soil classification and annual agriculturei production norms for var-
ious areas shall be determined by investigation by the people under direction
of the hsiang (te'un) magistrates (according to the standards already promul-
gated) and democratic decisions.
7. In the Wuhan area, rice shall be considered the standard crop. The
production standard for other market crops such as beans, wheat, hemp, sweet
potatoes, and green vegetables shall be set in accord with norms for similar
land in surrounding areas. Lotus plots and ponds shall be considered on the
same basis as other crops.
8. The following assessment regulations are based on Regulations 4 and 5
of the Central and South China provisional regulations.
a. No assessment shall be made against uncultivated grounds connected
with buildings, paddy plots, uncultivated mountain areas, cemeteries, ponds,
and grass plots yielding no income.
b. Public grounds, experimental plots, irrigation projects in progress,
woods, plant nurseries, lotus and firh ponds, etc., registered with the munici-
pal or higher authorities shall be exempted or partially exempted.
c. Unproductive river banks and sand banks shall not be assessed, but
such areas shall be assessed when they are productive.
d. Although the present general plan is not to open new land to cul-
tivation, either wild or fallow land under cultivation where it does not inter-
fere with municipal expansion plans, and for which cultivation the municipal
authorities have given permission, shall be exempted (under the law of 1950
granting 5 years' tax exemption for wild land and 3 years for fallow land
opened to cultivation). However, those who through laziness permit such land
to go uncultivated shall be taxed.
9. Those who have clear evidence that they are unable to pay tax becn;+se
of calamities may be exempted as provided by the Provisional regulations of Cen-
tral and South China Military and Administrative Committee, referred to above,
as follows:
Crop Loss Exemption
Under 20% None
21-30% 20%
31-4096
-50$
41 409E
51-60% 60%
61-70%
over 70% 80%
loo%
10. Railway right-of-way land, when cultivated, shall be taxed or exempted
according to the regulations of the Central People's Government governing such
cases.
a. The land within 30 meters on each side of the tracks of a double-
tracked railway and within 20 meters on each side of a single-tracked railway
(except when the roadbed is 3 meters or more above the level when the lateral
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distance may be extended) belongs to the railway and whether the railway culti-
vates it or rents it out, it is exempted from ts'. This applies whether or not
the tracks have been laid if the grading hee.been,done.
b. When a railway or highway(national or provincial) right of way has
been surveyed, but not yet taken over, the original cultivator or his leasehol-
ders may continue to cultivate it and pay the prescribed tax. When a railway
or highway has taken possession of the ground of a right of way, but has not be-
gun construction and rents it out, it shall pay 20 percent of the rent as tax.
The renter shall pay tax on his income rat the usual rate7.
11. Every individual in all families whose chief income is from agricul-
ture shall be counted as one unit irrespective of age or sex. The number of
people recorded in the tax-census register shall be the number counted. When
changes occur, adjustments may be made at the time of the next collection.
Students receiving half their support from public funds and those at-
tending short-term local cadre training courses shall be counted with their own
agricultural family unit, but students wholly supported from public funds may
not be counted with their own agricultural family.
12. In accordance with the 14th provision of the provisional regulations
intended to encourage breeding of work animals, 15 catties of the tax grain may
be deducted for each animal used in farming. No deduction shall be allowed for
nonworking stock.
13. For tax purposes the family shall be considered a unit. The total
family income shall be divided by the actual number of persons in the family
considered as agriculturists taking into consideration the exceptions men-
tioned above7 to find the per capita income. A blanket exemption of 120 cat-
ties shall be allowed for each individual. No tax may be collected where the
individual income is less than 120 catties. At the same time that general
grain tax is collected, a surtax of 20 percent of the amount of the general tax
shall be collected for local government expenses. No other surtax may be col-
lected.
14. Where rented land is in scattered plots, the tax shall be computed in
accordance with conditions where the landowner lives. If this cannot be done
then, the tax should be computed for each family member separately.
15. The respective tax to be levied against a landowner and his renter
shall be assessed in accord with Regulation 17 of the provisional regulations
on agricultural taxation after rent reduction and collected according to the
sliding scale. The landowner's portion of the tax can be collected from the
renter and he can recover it when he pays his rent.
In case a landowner voluntarily announces to the government his intention
to renounce his rent or makes such an agreement with the cultivator, the culti-
vator shall no longer receive the customary 20 percent discount allowed a renter.
The cultivator's income from renter land and his own land shall be lumped to-
gether and the tax computed on the total.
16. When a renter reports hidden land belonging to his landlord, he shall
be entitled to a complete exemption from tax on that portion of his crop grown
on such revealed land for the year in which he revealed.it. The purpose of this
revision is to encourage such revelations. The landowner shall pay tax at the
regular rate on his income from such revealed land. The tax shall be collected
from the renter but shall be recovered by him when he pays his rent.
{;ONFlDENTIAL
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17. When middle-class and poor farmers voluntarily answer the call of the
government to declare formerly unregistered land, they shall not be assessed
for back taxes; and, for 1951, they may pay at the old flat rate rather than at
the current progressive tax rate. However, if other persons reveal hidden land
belonging to the above classes they shall pay 9517 taxes at the progressive
tax rate. When landlords or wealthy peasants voluntarily reveal their hidden
land, they shall not be pressed to pay back taxes on such land, but they shall
be assessed at the progressive tax rate for their current tax.
18. Land being administered by the local peasants' association and cul-
tivated by the association shall be taxed at 13 percent of its normal produc-
tion. When rented out either at a fixed rent or on a share-crop basis, the as-
sociation shall pay a tax of 15 percent of its income from the land. When the
land is worked by an agriculturist (and he receives the v.iole income from it)
his tax shall be computed in conjunction with that on his own land.
19. Members of families of revolutionary heroes, soldiers, and workers,
as well as orphans, widows, and handicapped persons in poor circumstances who
are unable to work all their land and consequently rent out a small amount, if
they still are unable to pay their tax after receiving the preferential treat-
ment due them, may apply to the hsiang peasants' association for an adjustment
by the tax review committee. If the ch'u government passes the recommendations
of the committee the petitioners may receive a further exemption of 100 catties
per person. If payment on this basis should still involve a great 1,ardship a
still further reduction or total exemption may be made.
20. In case those who lack labor power to work their own land have a com-
bined annual income from their rented land and that which they work themselves
of less than 500 catties of standard grain jice7 per capita, the tax on their
income from rent may be handled on the 100 catties equals 100 cattiesoanis.
417 is nothing in these regulations to indicate the meaning of this phrase
100 catties equals 100 catties."7
21. The following steps should be followed in carrying out the tax-collec-
tion program:
b. A mass meeting shall be called to explain the law in order to ob-
tain true declarations in the census of persons, acreage, classification, and
number of work animals.
c. An investigation and adjustment committed shall be organized, con-
sisting of from nine to 13 persons from all classes rf peasants7, with the
hsiang magistrate or chairman of the peasants' association as chairman. The
committee's duties shall be to propagandize the policy, verify the census of per-
sons and the acreage, and number of work animals and rental connections. They
shall also decide on land types and classifications, compile statistics, give
direction to the village adjustment committees in seeing that tax grain reaches
the warehouses, and check the quality of the tax grain.
d. A democratic review of the people's report on the census, the
amount of acreage, and land classification shall be conducted and the results
posted in a public place.
e. A mass meeting to discuss the land classification for the hsiang
(ts'un) shall be held and the normal production figure democratically set up
for each type of land in accordance with government standards. A draft tax as-
sessment shall be made up for reference to the ch'u authorities for approval.
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f. After the ch'u authorities have passed on the draft, the assess-
ments for each tax-paying family shall be calculated. Then a conference shall
be called to notifj the taxpayers to pay the tax as calculated by a specified
time. If any taxpayers are dissatisfied with the assessment, they may appeal
for reconsideration, but in the meantime they should pay the tax according to
the original assessment within the specified time limit. After a regular in-
vestigation of the matter an adjustment may be made if called for.
g. The tax grain delivered should have been thoroughly dried and
cleaned, no adulteration of water or other substance is permitted. If the
grain does not meet the standards, it must be replaced by standard quality
grain.
h. If cash is to be substituted for rice in paying the tax, the con-
version rate shall be the purchase price of the China Grain Company, as pub-
lished in the Chang-chiang Jih-pao for the day of the transaction. If the
above newspaper is not delivered in the area concerned on the day of publica-
tion, the price indicated in the previous day's issue may be used in order to
avoid delaying the people in making payment.
1. After receiving notice of his assessment and the final payment
date, the taxpayer should take the grain (if he is paying in rice) to the ware-
house designated for him by the ts'un authorities. If he wishes to pay cash,
he should pay it to the designated agency. Whether he pays in rice or cash he
is entitled to an official receipt.
22. Before collection begins, a time limit for delivery should be set for
each village. If grain is collected, weighing and preservation should be ar-
ranged for. If cash is received, proper reckoning and accounting and prompt
handling and receipting should ue carried out in order that there be no delay
in agricultural operations.
23. Storehouses should be provided with people to operate them. The cash
received should come into the municipal treasury promptly.
24. When the tax collection is finished, each hsiang (te'un) should fill
out and turn in the proper report forms.
25. These regulations shall be effective when passed by the Central and
South China Military and Administrative Committee.
This following table is based on standard grain frice7. The unit is shih
chin. This tax rate table follows a sliding scale from the base upward. For
example, the tax on 200 shih chin equals 200 times and amounts to 8 shlh chin.
The rates set in this table do not include surtax for local government purposes.
Annual Per Capita Agricultural Income of
Each Member of Family Tax Rate
(shih chin '
Under 120
No tax
1
121-190
3
2
191-230
4
3
233-270
5
4
271-310
6
5
311-350
7
6
351-390
8
CONFID 4 T iAL
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Annual Per Capita Agricultural Income of
Each Member of A_amily
ehih chin
391-430
431-470
471-510
511-550
551-610
611-670
671-730
731-790
791-850
851-910
911-990
991-1,070
1,071-1,150
1,151-1,230
1,231-1,310
1,311-1,390
1,391-1,490
1,491-1,590
1,591-1,690
1,691-1,790
1,791-1,890
1,891-1,990
1,991-2,110
2,111-2,230
2,231-2,350
2,351-2,470
2,471-2,590
2,591-2,710
2,711-2,850
2,851-2,990
2,991-3,130
3,131-3,270
3,271-3,410
Above 3,411
CONFIDENTIAL
Race
M
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