Personal income tax special deduction plan a welcome move

The Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation released a draft of the personal income tax special deduction plan to solicit public opinion from Oct 20 to Nov 4. The comprehensive and classified combined personal income tax law will take effect since Jan 1, 2019, and could benefit Chinese citizens.

The detailed individual income tax special deduction plan has drawn wide public concern, because it deals with the scale of individual tax reduction, which could affect people's livelihood - either positively or negatively.

According to the plan, taxpayers that have to pay for their children's education, self-education or for parental support, or pay housing loan interest or house rent could end up paying lower personal income tax if they report the relevant expenditures to the taxation authorities and get special deductions.