Fiscal moves aid high-end development

China will actively provide support for key strategic tasks, says minister

China will accelerate the setting up of a modern fiscal and tax system to help safeguard fiscal support for the country's major strategic tasks and improve the well-being of the people, in a bid to bolster high-quality development, Finance Minister Liu Kun said in a published article on Thursday.

In an article in the Economic Daily, the minister said key measures being planned include safeguarding more expenditure for various undertakings in improving people's well-being, and optimizing the tax collection management system in the country.

China's tax income-to-GDP ratio declined to 15.2 percent last year from 17.5 percent in 2016, which indicated a relatively lower level of macro tax burden compared with other countries. The general tax level should remain stable to consolidate support for economic development, he said.