李克强总理：关于深化经济体制改革的若干问题（中英对照）

四、加快转变政府职能

IV. The transformation of government functions must be accelerated

我国经济社会发展的诸多问题都与政府职能和管理方式密切相关。政府职能不转变，其他方面的改革就难以推动。政府是改革的组织者、推动者，也是改革的对象，必须对自身进行改革。如果政府安于现状不想改、畏首畏尾不敢改、左右观望等待改，自身就会成为改革的障碍。去年本届政府开门办的第一件大事就是加快转变职能，简政放权、放管结合，这实质是政府的自我革命。今后要继续推进政府职能转变，完善管理体制和运行机制，理顺政府和市场、政府和社会、中央和地方的关系，逐步建立各级政府的权力清单制度，推动政府全面正确地履行职能，建设法治政府、创新政府、廉洁政府。

Many of China’s problems in economic and social development are closely related to the role that the government plays and the mode of management that it adopts. Without adjusting the functions of the government, it will be difficult to promote reform in other areas. In addition to being the organizer and implementer of reform, the government is also an object of reform, and must therefore introduce reforms that are targeted towards itself. A government that is content with the status quo, that has too many misgivings about reform, and that is overly hesitant to carry out reform will end up becoming an actual obstacle to reform. When this government came into office last year, the first task we set ourselves was to accelerate the transformation of government functions, to be achieved by streamlining administration, scaling back power, loosening restrictions, and strengthening regulation. In essence, this can be regarded as an attempt by the government to reform itself. Going forwards, we must continue to promote the transformation of government functions, refine management systems and operation mechanisms, and straighten out the relationships between the government and the market, between the government sector and the non-government sector, and between the central government and local governments. By gradually defining the powers of each level of government in the form of a list of powers and ensuring that the government performs its duties correctly and in full, we will build a clean and innovative government that conducts itself in accordance with the law.

第一，继续取消和下放行政审批事项。本届政府已经承诺，任期内把行政审批事项减少1/3以上，要确保完成。首先要把取消的文章做足、做到位，最大限度地放权给市场。对非行政许可审批事项要进行全面清理，该取消的一律取消；确需保留的，要依法调整为行政许可，今后不再搞非行政许可审批。要全面推进工商登记制度改革，由先证后照改为先照后证，将注册资本由实缴登记制改为认缴登记制，由企业年检制度改为年报公示制度，努力为企业经营和公民投资创业提供便利。

First, we must continue to cancel and delegate items subject to government approval. This government has promised to cut the number of items subject to government approval by more than 1/3 during its tenure, and we must ensure that this target is met. First and foremost, we must aim to do a thorough job in the cancellation of items subject to government approval, so as to place power in the hands of the market wherever possible. This requires that we conduct a thorough review of all approval items that are not stipulated in law, cancelling all items that are deemed unnecessary. In cases where government approval is deemed necessary, the items in question need to be lawfully readjusted as government approval items. In the future, items that are not stipulated in law will no longer require government approval. In addition, we need to carry on advancing the comprehensive reform of the registration system for industry and commerce. In an effort to better facilitate companies in doing business and citizens in launching their own business ventures, we will adopt a series of new reform measures. These will include reversing the relationship between business licenses and administrative permits, so that companies are able to obtain a business license before receiving an administrative permit for their area of business; revamping our registered capital system to replace the capital paid-in system with a capital subscription system; and cancelling annual inspections of companies in favor of annual disclosures.

第二，保留的审批事项一律向社会公开。政务公开是行政审批制度改革的助推器，是约束审批行为的紧箍咒。各部门还在实施的审批事项，要尽快公布目录清单。除此之外，一律不得实施行政审批，更不得设立新的审批事项。这实际上是向负面清单管理方式转变。政府以清单方式明确列出禁止和限制的范围，清单之外，“法无禁止即可为”，企业只要按法定程序注册登记，即可开展投资和经营活动。

Second, all items that remain subject to government review and approval must be disclosed to the public. The public disclosure of government affairs will have the combined effects of boosting the reform of the government approval system and constraining the review and approval activities of the government. All departments will be required to promptly make public a full list of all items still subject to their approval, and will not be permitted to impose government reviews on any item not found on that list. More importantly, government departments will not be permitted to establish any new items for review and approval. In fact, this represents a transition to a mode of management that is based around a negative list. In other words, the government will produce a clear list of all activities that are prohibited or restricted, and any item not found on that list will be deemed permissible by default. To invest and do business in these permitted areas, companies will simply be required to go through the legally prescribed registration formalities. 

第三，加强和改进监管。简政放权，绝不是一放了之，必须在放权的同时加强市场监管。要进一步强化事中事后监管、完善监管体系的具体措施。地方政府在职能转变和机构改革过程中，要把加强监管作为重中之重，建立横向到边、纵向到底的监管网络和科学有效的监管机制。现在往往是平时监管不及时、不到位，一出问题就搞“突击”，搞“大检查”，结果是雨过地皮湿，监管一定要制度化、规范化、常态化。要抓紧建立科学的抽查制度、责任追溯制度、经营异常名录和黑名单制度，对违法违规者，要严厉惩处，以儆效尤。

Third, we need to strengthen and improve government regulation. By no means does streamlining administration and scaling back administrative power mean that we will leave the market entirely to its own devices. As we are placing power in the hands of the market, it is also essential that we step up government regulation of market activities. Specifically, we need to further enhance our ongoing and ex post regulation and further refine the concrete measures that we adopt in our regulatory activities. During the transformation of government functions and the reform of government organizations, local governments are required to identify the enhancement of market regulation as their number one priority, establish a regulatory network with the sufficient reach and depth, and develop scientific and effective mechanisms for regulation. It is often the case that local governments are lax in their regulatory activities until something goes wrong, when their typical response is to implement a “crackdown” or a “large-scale inspection.” The problem is the underlying issues are never properly resolved. Therefore, it is essential that we institutionalize, standardize, and normalize the regulatory activities of the government. In doing so, we must work quickly to establish effective systems pertaining to the carrying out of spot-checks, the assignment of liability, and the formulation of a register of abnormal business activities and the establishment of a black list. By dealing out stern punishments to wrongdoers, we will make an example of those who act in violation of laws and regulations. 

五、深化财税体制改革

V. The reform of our fiscal and taxation system needs to be deepened

科学的财税体制是优化资源配置、维护市场统一、促进社会公平、实现国家长治久安的制度保障。现行的财税体制是在1994年分税制改革的基础上逐步完善形成的。这些年来，财政收入大幅增长，政府的调控能力显著增强。但随着形势发展变化，现行财税体制不适应、不完善的问题日益凸显，必须进行改革。

A sound fiscal and taxation system is an institutional necessity if we are to optimize the allocation of resources, safeguard a unified market, promote social fairness, and ensure the enduring peace and stability of the country. China’s current fiscal and taxation system was gradually developed on the basis of the fiscal and taxation reforms that we carried out in 1994, which saw the introduction of a system for the sharing of fiscal revenue between the central government and local governments. In recent years, fiscal revenues have increased by a considerable margin, affording the government significantly enhanced capabilities in macro-control. However, as conditions have changed, it has become increasingly evident that our current fiscal and taxation system is no longer suitable and no longer adequate. It is therefore essential that we carry out reform.

一是推进预算公开。政府预算收入取之于民，社会公众有权监督这些钱怎么花、花到哪、效果如何。长期以来，我国财政资金存在使用不规范、效率不高和资金沉淀等问题，部分地方政府举债行为也缺乏约束，这些与预算透明度不够、监督检查乏力是分不开的。要进一步加大预算公开力度。一要扩大预算公开范围。各级政府预算和决算都要向社会公开，所有财政拨款的“三公”经费更要公开。除公共预算外，政府性基金预算、国有资本经营预算、社会保险基金预算要进一步向社会公开。各级财政转移支付项目也要逐步公开透明。二要细化公开内容。部门预算基本支出和项目支出要尽快公开。完善政府收支预算科目体系，明确公开项目，做到科目粗细有度、表述清晰明了，让老百姓能看懂、社会能监督。三要强化预算公开工作的监督检查，建立预算公开问责机制。通过提高透明度强化监督和约束，使预算编制和执行更加阳光，使财政资金使用更有绩效，减少寻租腐败的机会。

First, we need to promote budget transparency. Given that the government’s revenue comes from the people, the public have the right to monitor how, where, and to what effect this money is spent. For many years, problems such as a lack of uniform standards for the use of fiscal funds, low efficiency in the use of funds, and a tendency for funds to be left idle have been present in China. At the same time, some local governments have not been sufficiently constrained in their debt financing activities. All the above problems are attributable to a lack of budget transparency and insufficient monitoring and inspection. Therefore, it is important that we promote greater budget transparency. These efforts will involve the following aspects. Firstly, we need to expand the scope of budget disclosures to the public. All levels of government will be required to make their budgets and final accounts available to the public, including, above all, all spending on official overseas visits, official vehicles, and official hospitality using public funds. In addition to budgets for public spending, budgets pertaining to government-managed funds, state capital operations, and social insurance funds also need to be further made public. Moreover, in the interests of transparency, transfer payments taking place at all levels will be progressively disclosed to the public. Secondly, we need to make our budget disclosures more detailed. In addition to making public the basic expenditure and project expenditure of departmental budgets at the soonest possible juncture, we need to improve the way that the revenue and expenditure budgets of the government are itemized, making clear which items are to be made public, providing the right level of detail, and setting out budget disclosures clearly so that they can be understood by the public and monitored by society. Thirdly, we need to enhance monitoring and inspection of budget disclosures and establish the relevant accountability mechanisms. Through the above efforts to increase transparency, strengthen monitoring, and enhance constraints, we will make the process of budget preparation and execution more transparent, ensure that fiscal funds are used more effectively, and limit the chances of influence peddling and other forms of corruption. 

二是推进税制改革。当前的重点是扩大营改增。这项改革不只是简单的税制转换，更重要的是有利于消除重复征税，减轻企业负担，促进工业转型、服务业发展和商业模式创新。系统考虑，营改增还有五步曲。第一步，2014年继续实行营改增扩大范围；第二步，2015年基本实现营改增全覆盖；第三步，进一步完善增值税税制；第四步，完善增值税中央和地方分配体制；第五步，实行增值税立法。今年要走好第一步，除已经确定的铁路运输和邮政业实行营改增外，还要将电信业等纳入进来。同时，要清费立税，推进消费税、资源税改革，加快环境保护税等立法进程，继续降低小微企业税费负担。

Second, we need to further advance the reform of our taxation system. At present, the focus of our taxation reforms is the replacement of business tax with value-added tax. However, this reform is not a simple matter of switching from one tax form to another; more importantly, it is an opportunity to eliminate instances of double taxation, lighten the burden on businesses, and promote the transformation of our industries, the development of the service sector, and the creation of new business models. Viewed systematically, there are still five steps to be taken in the replacement of business tax with VAT. They are as follows: step one, we will continue with efforts to replace business tax with VAT over a wider scope of sectors in 2014; step two, we will essentially replace business tax with VAT in all sectors in 2015; step three, we will make further refinements to our system of VAT; step four, we will refine systems for the sharing of VAT revenue between the central government and local governments; and step five, we will enact legislation regarding VAT. This year, our efforts need to be devoted to carrying out step one. In addition to railway transportation and postal services, which have already been confirmed for the switch from business tax to VAT, we will bring the telecommunications sector under the coverage of VAT this year. In addition to the above, we need to replace various administrative fees with taxes, advance the reform of excise and resource taxes, and accelerate the pace of legislation on environmental tax, so as to carry on lightening the burden of taxes and fees on small and micro businesses. 

三是划分事权和支出责任。长期以来，中央与地方之间、地方各级政府之间，事权和支出责任划分不清晰、不合理、不规范，总体看，中央政府部门管了不少不该管、管不好的事。去年我们启动了黑龙江“两大平原”现代农业综合配套改革试验，一个重要内容就是将中央政府在“三农”方面的审批权下放，各项涉农资金全部直接下拨到省，由地方统筹使用。这项改革取得经验后，不仅要在全国推广，其他方面也要借鉴其做法，把一些不适合中央部门管理的事权与财权下放。当然，中央该加强的事权和支出责任也要加强。要通过改革，健全事权和支出责任相适应的制度，保持现有中央和地方财力格局总体稳定，逐步理顺中央与地方收入划分，使中央与地方各安其位、各负其责、上下协同，促进政府治理整体效能的最大化。

Third, we need to clearly define the powers and spending obligations of different levels of government. For many years, the division of powers and spending obligations between the central government and local governments, and between local governments at different levels, has been unclear, irrational, and unstandardized. Generally speaking, the central government is still performing a number of roles that it need not perform and cannot effectively perform. Last year, we launched comprehensive and coordinated trial reforms for the development of modernized agriculture in the Sanjiang and Songnen plains of Heilongjiang Province. An important aspect of these reforms has been the delegation of the central government’s approval powers with regard to agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. Accordingly, all funding for rural initiatives is now transferred directly to the provincial government for overall management. Once a sufficient amount of experience has been gained, we will not only implement these reforms on a national scale, but also apply them to other areas, thereby delegating responsibilities and financial powers that the central government is not equipped to exercise effectively. Of course, there are cases where the powers and spending obligations of the central government will need to be enhanced. Through the implementation of reform, we need to further develop a system in which powers match spending obligations. While maintaining the overall balance in fiscal revenue between the central government and local governments, we will gradually straighten out the sharing of revenue between the central government and local governments, ensure that the central government and local governments assume their respective roles and responsibilities in a coordinated fashion, and seek to maximize the overall effectiveness of government administration.