"Counter-attack Under Financial Difficulties": Researching About The Township Government's Behavior In Post-agriculture Tax Period

Tax reform can regulate the tax collection and reduce the burden of peasants; but it has brought a tremendous impact on the agriculture-based township finance. In particular, in 2006 the complete abolition of agricultural tax, township, and agricultural tax as the main financial source of income originally, whose financial income declines sharply. In the township government functions conversion lag, county and township financial system straightens out, rural public goods supply and demand conflicts have not solved, the fiscal revenue and expenditure of township gap highlights, as a result, the township government get involved in the "difficulty".The township government as an independent actor has its own specific interests which is the starting point and driving force of the township government's action. The pressure of financial and capital shortage is transformed into the clearest and strongest demand and motivation, and then this situation drives the township government to choose appropriate behavior. After tax reform, in particular the abolition of agricultural tax, the township is in a huge financial difficulty. In order to reduce the loss of financial constraints to the benefits, the government must take a series of behaviors, such as "Qulibihai" and "counter-attack". This series of measures, including the attraction of investigation, exploring other ways of increasing financial income, and negatively providing public goods and public services, are taken by the government to reduce the financial expenditure. This series of actions will inevitably lead township's work into the "absence" and "serious overrun", and also it will certainly affect the stability and development in rural areas.To improve the above situation, the two aspects should proceed to achieve the village governance model changes. On the one hand, in order to establish rural public finance system, we must provide external basis to transfer government functions. This system can make the government have the ability to supply public goods and public services. On the other hand, the township government should strengthen its own building and build service-oriented government to realize the return of function. The government must shift the focus to work for rural areas and provide public services.