The Zhejiang provincial office of the State Administration of Taxation has reportedly purchased a yacht, which it claims will be used for tax collection by the Chun'an county tax bureau, sparking a heated online discussion, says an article in Zhujiang Evening News. Excerpts:

Did the tax department consult taxpayers and seek public opinions before buying a luxurious yacht, which it says will be used to collect taxes?

The high tax burden on people will compel them to attach strong metaphorical meanings to the yacht that tax department has apparently bought and increase their anxiety.

Whether the tax burden China is heavy is already a hot issue. People wouldn't have felt the tax burden so severely had more tax revenue been used to improve their livelihoods. But if the tax revenue is not used to solve social problems such as education, medical insurance and affordable housing, but on "three public consumptions" of overseas travel, receptions and official cars, common people should not be blamed for ruing the high tax rates.

Besides, using yachts to collect tax also exposes that the tax rates in China are indeed high. Taxation bureau figures show that before the tax reform of 1994, the proportion of expenses on tax collection in the total tax revenue was about 3.12 percent. The figure increased to 4.73 percent in 1996 and is now estimated to be 5 to 8 percent. The reason why the cost of collecting tax has risen is that tax revenue has been put to wrong use.

To regain full public trust, the government should invite independent auditors and supervision departments to investigate whether buying the yacht was illegal. And the government should make public the findings of the auditors and supervision departments.

(China Daily 09/28/2011 page9)