Death and taxes may be certain, but a tax on dying certainly isn't

A MEMBER OF the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body, recently proposed amending the inheritance tax. The Ministry of Finance has replied that the government has never collected such a tax. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Rumors that an inheritance tax was being levied have arisen occasionally since Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province was said to be piloting such a tax. Although the Shenzhen government refuted the rumor, there is still speculation about a "death tax".

The Ministry of Finance's reply should directly dispel such suspicions.