(Yicai Global) Aug. 30 -- China is stepping up efforts to reform the personal income tax system, said Xiao Jie, finance minister, while delivering the State Council Budget Expenditure Report to the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress yesterday.

Xiao said that the government was considering pushing forward reforms of personal income tax policy in the second half.

Unlike previous reports, the central and local government budget report released early this year did not directly mention personal income tax (PIT) reforms. Instead, it proposed drawing up an overall plan for the establishment of a personal income and property information system, which will lay the groundwork for introducing PIT reforms.

The proposed plan was passed at the 35th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms on May 23 with Zhang Shaochun, vice finance minister, saying the government will "consider [formulating] the personal income tax reform plan" in the Report of the State Council on Final Accounts of the Central Government 2016 on June 23.

This time, the wording has been changed to the government is "mulling pushing forward reforms of the personal income tax policy".