Luxury Goods Are Cheap And High &Nbsp; Billions Of Taxes Are Lost Every Year.

When will the era of high tax burden on imported goods end?

The import tax rate has become the national tax rate this year.

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Annual revenue loss of tens of billions

Last weekend, Ms. Geng, who lives in Dongba, received a set of milk powder imported from the courier company.

Ms. Geng told reporters that her son began to eat milk powder for a long time after weaning for 8 months. He had tried many domestic brands, but after experiencing the melamine and precocious puberty incidents, and his son had a "high fever" phenomenon, Ms. Geng began to purchase imported milk powder through the internet purchasing way through friends.

"Generally, I buy it once every two months, 8 boxes a box at a time, just 1 barrels a week."

Ms. Geng introduced, with its son often drink Meiji two paragraph as an example, Taobao overseas purchasing price is generally 150-180 yuan, because of the choice of this purchase mall quality assurance, the price is relatively high, 170 yuan per barrel.

Ms. Geng has calculated an account: if you choose to buy abroad, the milk powder will cost about 680 yuan per month, even if the freight rate is only 700 yuan, but if you choose to buy locally, the purchase channels are limited, some brands will only be sold in the few professional supermarkets and websites, the selling price is about 350-400 yuan / barrel, and the monthly cost will be 1400-1600 yuan, which is more than twice as high as the choice of purchasing.

"I heard that the price difference is on the tax. Recently, there is news that the state should reduce the import tax on milk powder. If so, even if it is higher, I would like to buy it locally."

Ms. Geng said.

Miss Geng also chose to avoid the high taxes and fees through purchasing, and Miss Su, who often bought imported skin care products.

"The imported skin care products in the shopping mall are too expensive. The T3 duty free Clinique cream cream is only 462 yuan for two boxes, and the shopping center is 460 yuan for a box."

Miss Su looked at the skin care products that she brought back from duty-free shops not long ago: Clinique 125ml butter cream, 460 yuan for each bottle, two yuan for overseas purchasing or T3 duty-free shops, 462 yuan, Estee Lauder 200ml red pomegranate water, 480 yuan for Beijing shopping mall, 290 yuan for bottles for overseas purchasing or T3 duty free, 420 yuan for each bottle for Biotherm 30ml and 480 yuan for each bottle, and 230 yuan for each bottle in Beijing.

Because of the huge price difference, Miss Su never buys skin care products in the country, usually through friends buying abroad or buying abroad.

"Daily necessities such as cosmetics and milk powder, high taxes have turned them into" luxury goods ", and reducing taxes on import links is a general trend.

An insider told reporters that import cosmetics, for example, need to pay import duties, consumption tax and value-added tax.

The import tariffs will vary from products ranging from 6.5%-18% to VAT to 17%, and consumption tax to 30%, which will require more than 50% of taxes and fees.

Take some cosmetics as an example, the import price is 1000 yuan, the import tax is 10%, the import duty paid price is 1100 yuan, the parallel value-added tax is 1100 yuan * 17%, the consumption tax is [1100 yuan / (1-30%)] 30% 30%, three Xiang Xiangjia, the entry price of this cosmetic is about 1758 yuan.

It is precisely because of the high tax burden that the difference between domestic and overseas prices is too high, which makes more and more people start to buy the needed goods abroad. Purchasing power has been prevailing at a time, resulting in the outflow of purchasing power, which not only makes the national tax revenue drain, but also attacks the commodities sold in regular channels.

According to the monitoring report on China's e-commerce market in 2010 (full text Download: http://b2b.toocle.com/zt/2010bgdz/), the market scale of overseas purchasing in 2010 reached 12 billion yuan, of which cosmetics and luxury goods were the majority. Even though the tax rate was 40%, the annual tax loss was as high as several billion yuan.

"It has not yet been counted that Chinese people buy luxury goods and cosmetics overseas through travel and other ways. If all of them are counted, the loss of tax burden is more than ten billion yuan."

Wang Jianlin, standing committee member of the CPPCC National Committee, vice chairman of the National Federation of industry and Commerce and chairman of Wanda Group, lamented.

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The mode of levy can not keep up with consumption changes.

High taxes hamper the construction of shopping paradise

Different from overseas purchasing methods, some consumers directly choose to meet their consumption needs through outbound shopping, which is attracted by the low price of overseas goods.

"I like overseas shopping, compared with domestic shopping. On the one hand, overseas shopping is cheaper than domestic prices. On the other hand, the quality of products purchased directly from abroad is also guaranteed."

Because of the working relationship, Ms. Feng, who works in a foreign company, has a chance to go to France frequently, which provides her convenience for overseas shopping and also makes her taste the sweetness of overseas shopping.

"Cosmetics are the inevitable choice for every overseas shopping, the quality of the problem, the price of overseas shopping has a certain advantage, the French L'OREAL is nearly half cheaper than the domestic L'OREAL.

At the very beginning, I brought some products to my friends in China, and now my friends are also choosing to go shopping directly. "

According to the data of the National Tourism Administration, the number of domestic tourists in 2010 was 2 billion 100 million, with a total income of about 1 trillion and 100 billion yuan and only 524 yuan.

By comparison, China outbound tourism in 2010 was 54 million people, and tourism cost 48 billion US dollars, and the expenditure was about 5800 yuan.

Outbound tourists' expenditure is 11 times the expenditure of domestic tourists and 2.5 times of the expenditure of 2300 yuan for inbound tourists.

Among them, the main reason for the high consumption of Chinese outbound tourists is shopping. It is estimated that shopping expenditure accounts for more than 60% of total tourism expenditure and is more than 30 billion dollars in terms of amount.

At present, all kinds of ordinary commodities in China are very rich. Outbound tourists are mainly Buying luggage, leather goods, jewelry and other luxury goods abroad.

According to the statistics of Nielsen Co, an international famous market research organization, in 2009, residents of four first tier cities in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen traveled overseas, and the amount of luxury goods purchased per capita amounted to US $900.

"Tourists flock to overseas to buy luxury goods, mainly due to the high tax revenue from luxury goods imported in China, resulting in a huge price difference between similar commodities at home and abroad."

Wang Jianlin told reporters that the luxury import tax policy currently implemented in China was mainly formed 20 years ago, when many domestic goods were in short supply, and it was reasonable to curb demand by collecting heavy taxes.

"But the overwhelming majority of goods in China are oversupply, and the foundation of the high tax policy is no longer there. The high tax burden has become the biggest obstacle for China to build shopping paradise in some cities."

In Wang Jianlin's view, luxury consumption reflects the upgrading of the consumption structure and consumption demand of the residents. Its definition and scope also change with the development of the times. Many commodities that used to be considered as luxury goods have become daily necessities, such as lipsticks and cream in cosmetics.

In the face of changes, policies should also be adjusted in due course.

In particular, at present, high taxes do not really curb consumer demand for luxury goods, but only shift the consumption abroad. At the same time, it also inhibits the consumption of inbound tourists.

"Massive consumption has been pferred to other countries through tourism, which not only reduces domestic consumption, but also reduces employment and taxes, which means that Chinese people send jobs and taxes to other countries by air."

Product classification and exemption space

Possible reduction in daily commodities

"Whether milk powder, cosmetics or other luxury goods, China does have some tax reduction space."

Jia Kang, director of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Finance Department of the Ministry of finance, admitted that although no department has accurately calculated the tax reduction space for the import tax of the above commodities, the relevant departments should consider it because the original tax burden is higher and the needs of the people are more reasonable.

On the premise of a consensus on reduction and exemption, experts and scholars have also made specific suggestions on the specific measures to reduce the import tax.

Zhao Ping, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce, international trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute, deputy director of the Ministry of consumer economics, said that the reduction of import tax rates and the specific reduction rates vary depending on the products. The extent of final reduction should be determined according to the domestic market conditions.

"At present, China's import tax collection mode has not been able to keep up with the changes in the consumption structure of the residents. With the development of the economy, some products are no longer luxury goods. When the import tax rate is set, the product is defined as a high tax on luxury goods. After reclassifying the products, we can draw the space for reducing import tax."

Zhao Ping said.

According to her judgment, the most feasible area of tax relief is concentrated on food, clothing and housing.

"Milk powder, washing products, watches and clocks, clothing products, imported bags, shoes and hats and other products all have the possibility of reducing taxes.

At home, because the import tax rate is set too high, the foreign middle and low grade products will be pformed into high-end products after they are pferred to the domestic market. Taking the GUESS products as an example, the products can be purchased from the middle and low consumption groups in the foreign market, but after the import of customs, the high import tax rate will turn them into the high-end brands in the domestic market, and their status is also higher than domestic products because of the import tax. This is unreasonable in itself, and this unreasonable phenomenon is not a special case of imported products, so these areas provide the largest tax relief space.

Zhao Ping suggested that it is the general trend to adjust the import tax by redefining the products, regrouping the products according to the consumption structure, and stripping some of the products from the ranks of luxury goods.

In Zhao Ping's view, because of the different circumstances of each product, different measures can be taken in the process of tax reduction and exemption.

Take cosmetics as an example, according to the existing import tax system, some cosmetics are defined as luxury goods, and 30% of the consumption tax is collected in the import process. Consumption tax, as a tax category to guide consumption structure, should be consistent with the current consumption structure of residents. Currently, most residents have the ability to consume cosmetics, and such products can be reduced or withdrawn by reducing or not collecting consumption tax.

For milk powder, import tax has not been collected in the import process, but there is still a tax rate of up to 57%.

In fact, the relevant departments of the state have begun to reduce the tax burden of imported goods.

According to the customs import and export tax adjustment plan issued by the General Administration of customs, since January 27, 2011, the tax rate of information technology products, such as computers, video camcorders and digital cameras, has been reduced from 20% to 10%, and tariffs have been cut by half.

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Tax cut is a double-edged sword for industry.

"Shock theory" and "activation theory" coexist

"For domestic industries, tax cuts may usher in a bigger industrial impact."

As a tax expert, Xu Shanda, former member of the CPPCC National Committee and deputy director general of the State Administration of Taxation, admitted that he did not support the expansion of imports by reducing the tax burden of products such as milk powder.

"It is impossible for Chinese children to eat imported milk powder all the time, and it is impossible for them to use imported cosmetics all the time. It is urgent to improve the credibility of local milk powder and cosmetics."

Xu Shanda pointed out that with milk powder as an example, the reason for the purchase of "Tian Liang" is not only the tax burden but also the distrust and lack of sense of security of domestic consumers after melamine and precocious puberty. Therefore, even lowering the tax burden is only a small part of the consumer demand.

In fact, the desire to protect domestic industry does allow some experts and scholars to hold different opinions on the adjustment of import tax rates.

In theory, the import tax can not be levied.

However, the purpose of setting up import tax is to protect domestic industry, on the other hand, to provide stable tax revenue. The reason why the import tax is delayed is to take account of the original intention of its establishment, taking into account the protection of domestic industry from impact.

Zhang Deyong, an associate researcher of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and finance and economics, analyzed the reason why the import tax has not yet seen the real policy landing, mainly considering the development prospect of domestic industry.

Domestic industry can increase employment opportunities, and also contribute to economic development. The reduction of import tax rate will inevitably impact on related industries and have an impact on the domestic employment market. Therefore, the process of reducing import tax needs careful consideration.

However, some experts point out that not all industries will be hit.

In Zhao Ping's view, the impact of lowering the import tax rate on the domestic market is different from that of the industry, and the extroverted enterprises will not be subjected to fatal impact.

"Take the chemical industry as an example. According to preliminary estimates, our foreign capital accounts for over 80% of the market. If the import tax is waiver, foreign products will enter, but the market is still a competition between foreign enterprises and foreign-funded enterprises, which will not cause any impact on domestic industries.

In addition, although China's capability in famous brand manufacturing and fashion leading is still lacking, the level and capability of China's manufacturing are concentrated in mid-range goods. Therefore, the proper import of some mid-range cosmetics and intermediate brand bags and watches and clocks will not impact domestic market, but will promote the development of domestic industry because of the introduction of competition.

Tax cuts help structure and increase taxes.

"Made in China" changed into "made in China"

"If the tax burden on imported goods is reduced, the 2/3 of Chinese tourists' overseas shopping expenditure will be pferred to the domestic market at 20 billion US dollars, and the scale of China's high-end consumer market will expand by two times."

According to Wang Jianlin, the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce showed that the total consumption of luxury goods in the mainland of China in 2010 was 10 billion 700 million US dollars. After the expansion of the market, the world brand will not only make the manufacturing base in China, but also put the key links such as design and testing in China, which is beneficial to the pformation from "made in China" to "created in China".

"The pformation from" made in China "to" created in China "is bound to bring more job opportunities.

Wang Jianlin told reporters that according to the National Federation of industry and commerce research, the sales volume of every 10000 yuan in commercial retail industry can create 0.085 jobs. If Chinese tourists stay in the 2/3 of luxury goods abroad, plus the luxury consumption of overseas tourists in China, at least 200 thousand jobs will be added.

In addition, the huge tax revenue before it is expected to return.

Wang Jianlin wrote accounts to reporters. If the tax burden is lowered, if Chinese tourists pfer to 2/3 luxury goods from abroad, the annual revenue will be increased by 4 billion yuan. If overseas tourists can easily buy luxury goods in China, the tax revenue will double, and the tax burden of purchasing and purchasing will add tens of billions of yuan of tax revenue to the Treasury every year.

"More importantly, the reduction of the corresponding tax burden will help us build a shopping paradise and a tourist city."

Wang Jianlin pointed out that all the world famous tourist cities are not shopping paradise, such as Paris, New York, Hongkong, Dubai and so on.

In particular, Dubai is restricted by natural environment and cultural tradition. Shopping is the main factor to attract tourists.

However, many famous tourist cities in China only travel without shopping, which means walking without one leg.

Therefore, lowering the import tax on luxury goods is conducive to building a shopping paradise in the mainland of China.