The front page of the Chongqing Economic Times today featured the headline: “50 tax payers are the backbone of Chongqing’s economic development.” The article describes a speech that Huang Qifan, the mayor of Chongqing, gave yesterday at the 2011 Chongqing Municipality Annual Commendation Meeting.
Mayor Huang applauded the 50 biggest taxpayers, all corporations, and called them the backbone of regional economic development and competitiveness in the region. Together, these firms paid RMB 56.8 billion in taxes last year, and accounted for 38% of the city’s tax revenue. As the city’s economy continues to develop, and enterprises become bigger and stronger, he hopes the proportion of total tax revenue contributed by these 50 largest corporations will gradually decrease. The article does not specify how many of these corporations are state-owned, but does mention that some of them are privately owned.
The Chongqing Tobacco Industry Co. and Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co. were singled out as particularly good tax payers. The rest of the article describes Chongqing’s tax structure and wisdom of its budget in greater detail.
In the aftermath of the Bo Xilai scandal, it appears that Chongqing officials are eager to demonstrate the continued stability and economic strength of their city.
Sources:
Chongqing Economic Times: 纳税50强是重庆经济发展的脊梁骨