"Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?" The people of China are hospitable. When friends and relatives come, the host often tries his best to entertain each other with seven dishes and eight bowls. However, limited by economic conditions, in the past, guests were arranged at home, and not many people could afford it, so they often invited them to restaurants. With the improvement of living standards, whether guests come or friends get together, the metropolis will book a table and have a meal in the hotel. As for business contacts and public money consumption, it is common for high-end hotels to have thousands of meals. In addition to hospitality, China people also advocate frugality. "Looking at the sages of the past, frugality is the reason, and extravagance is the reason." Perhaps in order to prevent extravagance and waste and curb abnormal consumption, the government introduced the banquet tax in 1988. Taxpayers of banquet tax are units and individuals that hold banquets in business premises. The business premises mentioned here include restaurants, hotels, guesthouses, guest houses, restaurants and so on. Since it is a business place, the family is naturally not included. In other words, guests are exempt from banquet tax in their own homes. But when the banquet tax was first levied, family banquets were also included. It was only because it was inconvenient for residents to collect taxes and manage and supervise, and then it stopped.

Banquet tax, speaking, is strict with self-discipline and lenient with others. Why do you say that? It turns out that compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, overseas Chinese and foreigners are not restricted by the state, but are in favor of it. There is a simple reason. They are eager to spend. After all, it is a rare good thing to support the development of tourism and increase foreign exchange income. The original intention of collecting this tax is only to guide domestic rational consumption and oppose public funds, entertainment and extravagance.

In fact, since the banquet tax was levied on 1988, the tax revenue has not been sufficient. By 1994, the state banquet tax was only 870,000 yuan. At that time, the national tax system was reformed and the banquet tax was decentralized. The local government decides whether to collect taxes or not, and the taxes will be turned over to the local finance. Except for a few provinces such as Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, most places stopped collecting banquet tax. By June 2002, 65438+1 October1,the banquet tax was also cancelled in Inner Mongolia. This is a banquet tax levied in good faith. Why is it embarrassing? It's almost useless.

Excessive tax burden is an important reason why banquet tax is difficult to implement. China banquet tax rate is set at 15%-20%, which is much higher than the tax burden of some production links. The threshold is also set relatively low, and a meal of 200-500 yuan will be taxed. This standard not only refers to the price of vegetables, but also includes drinks, beverages, cigarettes and staple foods. According to the current consumption standards, in large and medium-sized cities, I'm afraid every table has to pay banquet tax. In this way, a meal involves a lot of taxes. Take wine for example. The wine bought by the hotel includes value-added tax, while the guests buy catering service and business tax. If they accidentally drink too much, they have to pay banquet tax. As the saying goes, some people do beheading business, but no one does business at a loss. Restaurants will naturally try their best to make diners feel wronged and pass on the increased tax burden to them. However, if you gain a reputation as a cheater, you will also lose repeat customers, and it is difficult to do business for a long time. Therefore, the catering industry's attitude towards banquet tax is reluctant. If it can leak, it will leak, and if it can save, it will save one.

The high cost of tax implementation is another reason why banquet tax is unsustainable. The reason is obvious, the tax collectors are thousands of lines below, a needle above, and various taxes. If you handle it yourself, you can only get twice the result with half the effort. Banquet tax, in particular, should not allow tax collectors to calculate costs table by table with an empty stomach all day. So the banquet tax is collected and remitted. In other words, the catering party is responsible for collecting and paying the banquet tax. It is difficult to guarantee the collection of banquet tax. For example, a group of guests go to a restaurant for dinner and ask for 600 yuan. A restaurant should collect taxes, but if the restaurant owner follows the rules, it will inevitably offend diners. There are taxes to be collected here, and we have our own tax-free office. The owner of Restaurant B, with a lively mind, divided 600 yuan's meal expenses into three parts and issued three invoices for 200 yuan, all of which were lower than the threshold stipulated in the tax law. The tax was wiped out secretly, and both buyers and sellers were happy. Even if the tax department has three heads and six arms, it can't be thorough. Even if a restaurant is unlucky and caught by tax inspection, it will only pay a fine. In this regard, although the tax authorities have long been aware of this, they have also taken some measures. For example, for law-abiding restaurants, according to the tax situation, a certain percentage is extracted as a handling fee for merchants. However, businesses are more savvy. Paying taxes for a meal of tens of yuan will probably cost a few yuan, which is really a drop in the bucket compared with the consumption of guests. In this case, it is not surprising that banquet tax cannot be levied.

After the decentralization of banquet tax, most places canceled this tax, not out of helplessness, but because of the reality of economic life, which is a wise move. At the beginning, the state levied banquet tax with its special background. In the 1980s, China's economy continued to heat up, the affluent class began to form, and the poor suddenly became rich, which inevitably led to some phenomena of pursuing luxury, high consumption and eating and drinking. During this period, corruption also began to rise, and the wind of public funds to treat guests and give gifts, eat and drink grew rapidly. There is nothing wrong with the state levying banquet tax, which is intended to guide consumption and stop corruption. However, the economic situation has been different for more than a decade. With the transformation from planned economy to market economy, the domestic market has changed from short supply to oversupply. On the one hand, a buyer's market has been formed, and a large number of goods cannot be sold. On the other hand, affected by the Asian financial crisis, China's economy showed signs of contraction, and insufficient domestic demand became a big problem. Expanding domestic demand and stimulating economic growth has become a top priority. Expanding domestic demand includes both investment demand and consumer demand. Don't underestimate a banquet, I don't know how many industries can be promoted and how many employment opportunities can be created. If we look at the banquet tax, it will immediately attack consumption, which is completely opposite to the current economic situation. In addition, to punish corruption, I'm afraid we have to think of other ways to make a fuss from the source. Facts have proved that by imposing a banquet tax, trying to stop eating and drinking is like killing tigers across the mountain, which has little effect.

The levy and suspension of banquet tax in Inner Mongolia provide a good practical support for the above viewpoint. From 65438 to 0988, the state promulgated the Provisional Regulations on Banquet Tax, and the banquet tax was settled in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region that year. Banquet tax is decentralized by 1994, and Inner Mongolia is one of the few reserved places. As an inland province, Inner Mongolia's economy is underdeveloped, and its financial expenditure has always been stretched. Banquet tax is a local tax, and its collection is of great benefit to increasing local financial resources. But when the situation changes, people's ideas will change. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, the plump and beautiful Yang Yuhuan was the idol of people. But now skinny beauty is popular, and losing weight has become a fashion. The same is true of tax setting. The excellent tax of that year will become obsolete with the change of economic situation, and the scenery will no longer be there. Inner Mongolia is a strategic place for the western development. It is an urgent task to develop the western region and seek economic development. As the saying goes, no work is not rich, no business is not alive. I'm afraid it's not enough to attract investment and make friends without normal social activities in China. Banquet tax is small, attracting investment is big. From 20011,Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region announced that it would stop collecting banquet tax.