Full session of national legislature to convene on March 5

Source: Xinhuanet | 03-01-2007 16:50

The fifth full session of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) of China will convene on March 5 next year.

The decision was made by members of the Tenth NPC Standing Committee on Friday before the close of the 25th session of the NPC Standing Committee.

The NPC Standing Committee members also adopted resolutions on Friday to submit the drafts of corporate income tax law and property law to the fifth full session of the national legislature for deliberation.

The draft of corporate income tax law sets a unified income tax rate for domestic and foreign companies at 25 percent after years of criticism that the tax policies are unfair to domestic companies.

Chinese companies currently pay income tax at a nominal rate of 33 percent, while their foreign counterparts, which benefit from tax waivers and incentives, pay an average of 15 percent.

There are 159 countries and regions that levy corporate income tax at an average 28.6 percent.

China's draft property law, a sweeping bill designed to protect both public and private ownership, has undergone more reviews than any other bill by the NPC Standing Committee, China's top legislature.

The draft law, after its seventh reading, was described as "on the correct political direction" and represented China's basic economic system.

Editor:Du Xiaodan