Two sides to the tax amendment coin

The highlight of the draft amendments to the Taxation Administration Law is the introduction of taxpayer IDs for individual citizens.

Given the high expectations for the new design to plug loopholes in the taxation system and complement the badly needed personal credit record regime, there is little doubt about its smooth passage through the State Council, China's Cabinet, and the National People's Congress, the top legislature.

At present, only institutional taxpayers have been assigned identification numbers in China. But as the economy diversifies, the private sector prospers and more individuals thrive outside the system, tax collectors are increasingly attracted to once slighted individuals.