# State Taxation Administration

The State Taxation Administration (STA; Chinese: 国家税务总局) is a ministerial-level department within the government of the People's Republic of China. It is under the direction of the State Council, and is responsible for the collection of taxes and enforces the state revenue laws. Previously known as State Administration of Taxation.

## Mandates

* Drafting tax laws and regulations; formulating detailed implementation rules for tax laws and regulations; putting forward suggestions on tax policies, and together with the Ministry of Finance, reviewing the suggestions and submitting them to the State Council; formulating implementation rules for tax policies.
* Measuring the overall tax burden and putting forward suggestions on how to use tax for regulation purpose; formulating tax rules and procedures and supervising their implementation; providing guidance for local tax collection and administration.
* Organizing collection and administration for central taxes, shared taxes and contributions to state-designated funds; working out revenue plans; providing interpretation for issues concerning tax collection and administration and general tax policy issues arising from the implementation of tax laws and regulations.
* Conducting international exchange and cooperation on taxation; negotiating and applying agreements on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital.
* Regulating the collection and refund of VAT and Excise Tax on imports and exports.
* Being responsible for the administration of human resources, salary, size and expenditure of SAT local offices; appointing and supervising the work of directors and deputy directors at the provincial level of SAT offices; advising on the appointment and removal of directors of local tax service at the provincial level.
* Facilitating education and training for tax staff at all levels to build up their professional skills and ethical standards.
* Organizing tax theoretical research and activities to promote tax awareness among the public; serving and regulating certified tax agents and tax agencies.
* Other mandates entrusted by the State Council.

## Organization

The Commissioner and four Deputy Commissioners of SAT are appointed by the State Council.
One Chief Economist and one Chief Accountant are also members of SAT's top leadership.

### Departments

There are 14 functional departments within the Headquarters of SAT, each of which consists of several divisions (offices) as follows:
| Departments | Functions & Divisions |
| General Office | consisting of Division of Secretaries, Secretariat Division, Supervisory Division, Comprehensive Research Division, News Division and Financial Division |
| Policy and Legislation Department | consisting of Division of Comprehensive Affairs, Tax Reform Division, Legislative Division and Appeal Division |
| Turnover Tax Department | ( in charge of the administration of VAT, Consumption Tax and Business Tax): consisting of Comprehensive Division, VAT Division, Consumption Tax Division and Business Tax Division |
| Income tax Administration Department | (in charge of administration of Enterprise Income Tax and Individual Income Tax): consisting of Comprehensive Division, Central Enterprise Income Tax Division, Local Enterprise Income Tax Division and Individual Income Tax Division |
| Local Tax Department | (in charge of administration of Resource Tax, City and Township Land Use Tax, City Maintenance and Construction Tax, Fixed Assets Investment Orientation Regulation Tax, Land Appreciation Tax, House Property Tax, Vehicle and Vessel Usage Tax, Stamp Tax, Slaughter Tax and Banquet Tax): consisting of Comprehensive Division, Local Tax Division I, Local Tax Division II and Local Tax Division III; |
| Agriculture Tax Bureau | (in charge of administration of Agriculture Tax, Animal Husbandry Tax, Deed Tax and Farmland Occupation Tax): consisting of Comprehensive Division, Agriculture Tax Division I and Agriculture Tax II |
| International Taxation Department | (Offshore Oil Tax Bureau): consisting of Comprehensive Tax Policy Division, Tax Administration Division, Anti-Tax Avoidance Division, Offshore Oil Tax Division, International Tax Treaty Division, Foreign Affairs Division and Foreign Cooperative Division; |
| Import and Export Tax Department | ( responsible for VAT and Consumption Tax on importation and exportation ): consisting of Comprehensive Division, Import Tax Division and Export Tax Division; |
| Administration and Collection Department | consisting of Comprehensive Division, Tax Propaganda Division, Invoice Management Division and Open Market Tax Division; |
| Tax Investigation Department | consisting of Comprehensive Division, Procedure Division, Investigation Division I and Investigation Division II |
| Financial Management Department | consisting of Funding Division, Infrastructure Division and Equipment Division; |
| Planning and Statistical Department | consisting of Comprehensive Division, Planning Division, Statistical Division and Macro-Analysis Division; |
| Personnel Department | consisting of Comprehensive Division Personnel Division for Headquarters, Personnel Division for Local Offices, Recruit Division and Grass-root Work Division; and |
| Supervision Bureau | (representative office of Supervision Ministry):consisting of Secretariat Division, Discipline Inspection and Supervision Division and Division for Letters of Complaints. |

### Others

Besides, some non-governmental institutions directly under the Headquarters of SAT are Education Center, Logistical Service Center, Information Technology Center, Registered Tax Agent Management Center, Tax Science Research Institute, China Taxation Magazine, China Taxation Newspaper, China Taxation Press, Yangzhou Training Center and Changchun Tax College.

## Tax classification

| Category of Taxes | Type of Taxes |
| Turnover Taxes | VAT |
| Turnover Taxes | Consumption Tax |
| Turnover Taxes | Business Tax |
| Income Taxes | Enterprise Income Tax |
| Income Taxes | Income Tax on Enterprises With Foreign Investment and Foreign Enterprise |
| Income Taxes | Individual Income Tax |
| Resource Taxes | Resource Tax |
| Resource Taxes | Urban and Township Land Use Tax |
| Special Purpose Taxes | City Maintenance and Construction Tax |
| Special Purpose Taxes | Farmland Occupation Tax |
| Special Purpose Taxes | Fixed Assets Investment Orientation Regulation Tax |
| Special Purpose Taxes | Land Appreciation Tax |
| Property Taxes | House Property Tax |
| Property Taxes | City Real Estate Tax |
| Property Taxes | Inheritance Tax |
| Behavioral Taxes | Vehicle and Vessel Usage Tax |
| Behavioral Taxes | Vehicle and Vessel Usage Plate Tax |
| Behavioral Taxes | Stamp Tax |
| Behavioral Taxes | Deed Tax |
| Behavioral Taxes | Security Exchange Tax |
| Behavioral Taxes | Slaughter Tax |
| Behavioral Taxes | Banquet Tax |
| Agriculture Taxes | Agriculture Tax |
| Agriculture Taxes | Animal Husbandry Tax |
| Customs Duties | Customs Duties |
Notes:
1. Slaughter Tax, Banquet Tax and Animal Husbandry Tax are now decentralised to the local governments for administration. Whether levying or not shall be at the discretion of the governments at provincial level for decision by taking into account the local conditions.
2. Inheritance Tax and Security Exchange Tax have not yet been legislated to date.

## Policy

In 2015, the State Administration of Taxation prohibited local tax authorities from inspecting e-commerce businesses.$^{:16}$

## List of directors

| Name | Chinese name | Took office | Left office |
| Li Yu'ang | 李予昂 | 1949 | 1958 |
| Ren Ziliang | 任子良 | 1961 | 1978 |
| Liu Zhicheng | 刘志城 | 1978 | 1984 |
| Jin Xin | 金鑫 | 1984 | 1994 |
| Liu Zhongli | 刘仲藜 | 1994 | March 1998 |
| Jin Renqing | 金人庆 | March 1998 | March 2003 |
| Xie Xuren | 谢旭人 | March 2003 | August 2007 |
| Xiao Jie | 肖捷 | August 2007 | March 2013 |
| Wang Jun | 王军 | March 2013 | December 2023 |
| Hu Jinglin | 胡静林 | December 2023 | Incumbent |