Study On The Evaluation Of Policies Of The Reform Of Rural Tax And Fee In China

Over a long period of time, government agencies have paid great attention to theestablishment and implementation of policies, yet with little care for the effects after theimplementation. Policy evaluation is the weakest part in the process of Reform of Rural Taxand Fee policies in China. After several-year implementation, what are the effects ofpolicies? What are the real benefits and efficiency of policies? Has it achieved the expectedgoals? Concerns on these questions led to the initiation of this research. In addition, underthe current background that numerous new tax and fee policies have been established andimplemented, it is necessary to evaluate scientifically the effects of policies, in order toprovide the basis for policy development in the future.Since policy evaluation is a relatively new subject in China, there is no systematictheory which is prerequisite to tax and fee policy evaluation, with the shortage of scientificand standardized evaluation methods and criteria. Through studies on policy evaluationhave been carried out earlier abroad than at home, the majority focus on the evaluation ofpublic policies. Due to the divergence of China's reality and agricultural particularity, thestandards, models and methods in these studies can hardly be applied in the evaluation ofpolicies. With regard to the evaluation of policies related to agriculture, since differentresearchers have different starting points and views on key issues and situations in differentplaces are also different, the achieve. Colleagues in China, who are engaged in the practicalwork of agricultural economy and management, have already done some researches on taxand fee policy content, operation process, disadvantages, operation effects and so on, whichhas provided some materials and analysis bases for successors. However, in general, suchresearches lack precise analysis, in particular theoretical sublimation. Therefore, it canhardly undertake scientific analysis and evaluation for the operation of the whole policies.Bases on general theories and methods of policy evaluation, this paper looks at the theoretic basis of tax and fee policy evaluation from the standpoints of Policy Science,Public Economics, Tax and Charge theory respectively. It summarizes the concept andfunctions of tax and fee policy evaluation, and straightens out various evaluation types oftax and fee policy evaluation, with reference to agricultural characteristics and reality offarm's burden. The report founds analysis frame, brings forward the principles to set up thesystem of evaluation criteria, and further establishes the criteria system of policy evaluationencircling policy goals. It evaluates rural tax and fee policy, benefit adjusting policy andmatching policy as Jiangsu a case, by provincial data, combining typical investigationsfrom South, Middle and North Jiangsu. On the basis of these, the article gives acomplicated evaluation using AHP. The paper concludes policy's effects discrepancy and itslogical relationship, finds out "two difficulties" in carrying out policies, analyzes policyobjective discrepancy, so put forward some advises to deepen the Reform.Tax and Fee policies appear ideas which give farmer'equeal favors to city'sresidents.The evaluation of Tax and Fee policies appears that after policy implemented,farmer's burden on the contract sheet decreases, collecting-money, apportion and chargingoutside the law declines, but have not rooted out, administrative charging towards farmersdoesn't reduces obviously. The evaluation results conform to policy targets basically.Thepaper tells that the inequality between farmer's burden increases. But the situation changesa little after new derating agricultural tax and fee policies.The evaluation of adjusting benefits policies appears that policies changeintersubjective benefits. Rural governments' income reduces, but in different stage of theReform, reduced income comes from different part of finance income, raising-money inprophase, and agricultural taxes in anaphase. So the Reform polices give a mechanism toreveal that rural governments don't run normally before and after the Reform. Villagecommittees run abnormally in prophase due to the decreasing income, but normally inanaphase. Farmer's income increases. The economic efficiency of the Reform reaches76.92ï¼…. The Reform achieves social benefits too. Files about farmers' death because of theburden cut down, quantities of farmers' appealing to the higher authorities for help lessen,the relationship between cadres and farmers harmonizes.The evaluation of matching policies appears that effects are not so ideal in some areas.The government authorized staff and its payment has not reduced. The transfer-paymentpolicy appears that all lever governments, especially centre and provincial governmentparticipate rural constractions, but the transfer-payment is intercepted. The main part of input of the rural compulsive education comes from county. It appears that the main part ofinput of the rural compulsive education is country, not farmers. But in fact, does not comefrom county finance, from town finance, even farmers in some regions.The evaluation of complicated benefits of the Reform appears that a complicatedbenefit of the Reform is higher than before the Reform. This guides the direction of theReform. But complicated benefits are different in the south, middle and north part ofJiangsu.The complicated benefits in the South are high before and after the Reform, but theeffection of the Reform is lowest. The North are low, the effection is highest. The middle ismedium.On the basis of above, the paper sort evaluation results out three types. Firstly, ruralfinance income and inputs of rural compulsive education reduce. According the Reformpolicies, inputs of rural compulsive education are main payment of rural finance income. Sothe first type is reduction of the rural finance income. Secondly, the government'sauthorized staff and their payment has not reduced. Thirdly, collecting-money, apportionand charging but outside the law have not been rooted out, administrative charging towardsfarmers doesn't reduce obviously. The transfer- payment is intercepted. The first type issueis related to the Reform policies. The second is the results of the first. And the third isoutcome of the first and the second, too. In the final analysis, all effect discrepancies aredue to lower finance income and difficulty of distributing authorized staff, called "twodifficulties".In conclusion, after the Reform, farmer' s burden lightens, but it is only homeostasisand temporary. "Two difficulties" can aggravate at any moment.All conclusions found on the presupposition of corrective policy targets. Butdiscrepancies of policy effects may serve as a foil to correction of policy targets. In fact, itexists inconsistency between policy targets.So the paper gives advices to deepen the Reform. The first is to found evaluation indexsystem. The second is suggestions to improve matching policies. The third is to innovatethe Reform policies.