国内英语新闻:Top legislature convenes bimonthly session

BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature opened its bimonthly session on Tuesday to deliberate a draft e-commerce law and amendment to the Individual Income Tax Law as well as bills and reports.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presided over the meeting.

TAX THRESHOLD RAISED

Reviewing a draft amendment to the Individual Income Tax Law is one of the major tasks for the lawmakers and has drawn wide attention from the public.

The draft amendment raises the minimum threshold for personal income tax from 3,500 yuan (about 544 U.S. dollars) to 5,000 yuan per month.

The draft amendment adds special expense deductions for items like children's education, continuing education, treatment for serious diseases, as well as housing loan interest and rent.

Entrusted by the State Council, Finance Minister Liu Kun told lawmakers at Tuesday's opening of the session that the revisions were aimed at implementing decisions by central authorities and ensuring smooth individual income tax reform.

The changes are conducive to reducing the tax burden for taxpayers, raising people's incomes and boosting consumption, he said.

The amendment also adds an anti-tax avoidance clause, empowering tax authorities to adjust taxation when individuals transfer property in violation of independent trading.

REGULATING ONLINE MARKET

China's draft e-commerce law was submitted to the top legislature for a third reading, further regulating online market order and protecting consumer rights.

"The draft law aims to further support and promote the development of e-commerce, regulate market order, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of all parties in e-commerce," Cong Bin, deputy chairman of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee, said in a report to the lawmakers.

Cong said that the draft law would focus on the obligations and liabilities of e-commerce operators, especially platform operators.

China has the world's largest e-commerce market, with online retail sales growing 32.2 percent year on year in 2017 to reach 7.18 trillion yuan.

NO JUDICIAL INTERFERENCE

According to the draft revisions to the organic laws of the people's courts and the people's procuratorates, any organization or people cannot require judges or prosecutors to do anything outside their jurisdiction.

Judges and prosecutors should reject and make a faithful record of intervention in judicial affairs by officials and their meddling in specific cases, said the draft revisions, adding that violators would be punished based on the seriousness of their behavior.

Lawmakers also reviewed a draft decision on the duties of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee, and reports on national sci-tech projects, solid waste disposal, and top legislator Li Zhanshu's overseas visits to Ethiopia, Mozambique and Namibia.