Resumen de Improved legal control over Chinese tax incentives: anything to learn from EU State aid?
Since the “reform and opening‑up” policy in 1978, Chinese tax incentives have experienced fluc- tuations. China has tailored its tax incentives to create a level playing field in the market, es- pecially after China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, China still has a state‑oriented attitude towards the granting of tax incentives. This can be witnessed from conflicts between certain Chinese tax incentives and the WTO’s subsidy rules. China tends to treattaxincentivesasinstrumentstoachievepolicygoals,buttheyoftenlackthenecessarylegal control. The European Union (EU) is a comparable power as to China in the world. The ultimate objectiveoftheEUistheestablishmentofaninternalmarket,whichisbasedonmarketeconomy and free trade. State aid law, as a part of EU competition law, aims to limit the negative effects of state aid measures, thus creating a level playing field for all member states. In recent years, it playsanincreasingroleinrestrictingtheharmfuleffectsoftaxincentivesintheinternalmarket.
How can China improve the legal control over its tax incentives? Are there any inspirations for China from the experiences of EU State aid law? This article makes suggestions to an improved legal control over Chinese tax incentives against the background of EU State aid.
