Law should stipulate what nontax revenues governments can collect

DURING THE ANNUAL SESSION of China's top legislature in Beijing on Monday, the legislators suggested that all government nontax revenue be stipulated by law, just like tax revenue. Xiaoxiang Morning News commented on Tuesday:

All taxes and their rates should be fixed by law. Yet nontax revenue, which has been an important source of income for local governments in the forms of various kinds of fees, has long been outside the supervision of law.

Local governments decide not only whether or not to collect certain fees, but also the rate of the fees. The governments also have tremendous discretionary power over how the fees are used.