The Way For Township Government Financial Difficulty After Rural Tax Reform

It is an established fact that many countries in the world governs the rural areas and deliver public products and services by means of setting up township by law. In China, the township government, as the lowest level of government, is responsible for the organization and government of farmers, for the economic construction and social development of rural areas. Thus, the building up and running condition is directly related political stability, social security and economic prosperity.But, the fact that there has long been the dual structure of the urban and rural areas, and the disconnection between the administration system and financial system of townships, has led to the low financial income at the township level, caused the immediate involvement of townships in financial difficulties. Moreover, with the implementation of agricultural tax reform the financial situation at the township level has been getting worse, which threatens the normal performance of the township government and hinders the execution of public service and administration. Overcoming the financial difficulty at this level is an urgent task that concerns the deepening of township reform and strengthening township government and claims attention from all circles.This paper, by studying the literature, cases and analyzing and contrasting, based on analyzing the historical forming and growing process of the financial difficulty at the township level, shows that it was the lack of matching measures for the rural tax reform that led to the financial situation, while the deep cause has been the serious unbalance between the administrative responsibilities and financial power of the township government. It offers that the way out is to design the path of reforms of township government structure and financial system and conduct a comprehensive reform of township system according to the principle of balancing the responsibilities and power on the basis of redefining the administrative responsibilities and thefinancial power of townships.