MORE people who earned more than 120,000 yuan (US$16,000) last year have declared their income to the tax authority last year, official tax declaration figures showed.

The Shenzhen local taxation authorities revealed last week that a total of 146,206 people who earned at least 120,000 yuan (US$16,000) last year declared their income to the bureau, up 29.2 percent from the previous year. The top earners were employees of finance companies and technological firms, brokers, service industry workers and salespeople, the Daily Sunshine quoted Lu Quanhan, a local taxation official as saying Friday.

A regulation published by the State in November 2006 requires employees on the Chinese mainland to declare their personal income tax starting 2007 if they earn more than 120,000 yuan a year. Some 113,000 abided by the rule and declared their income in Shenzhen last year.

During the official tax declaration period between January and March 2008, people voluntarily paid more than 43 million yuan in income taxes which they had previously evaded, Lu said, adding that nearly 62 percent of the taxpayers chose to do it online, after local taxation authorities launched an online service this year.

The top earners were employees of financial companies and technological firms, brokers, service industry workers and salespeople.

Of those earning 120,000 yuan or more, less than 3,700 were from the real estate sector, because only management staff and brokers benefited from the booming property market rather than average employees.

In China, the personal income tax is calculated on a progressive scale between 5 percent and 45 percent. Companies are required to pay 25 percent corporate income tax to State taxation authorities.

(Li Dan)