Expert: The decrease in personal income tax in the first two months may be related to the late Spring Festival this year

On March 28th, the Ministry of Finance recently released the financial revenue and expenditure situation for January to February 2024. Personal income tax (hereinafter referred to as "personal income tax") revenue decreased by 15.9% year-on-year, significantly higher than the 4% decrease in the same period last year and also greater than the 1% decrease in the entire year last year. In the opinion of the interviewed experts, the decrease in personal income tax in the first two months may be related to the relatively late Spring Festival this year compared to last year. Personal year-end bonus dividends should have paid personal income tax deposited later than last year, resulting in a higher base last year; Also affected by the increase in three special additional deduction standards in August last year, which resulted in a tail end reduction in income this year. At the same time, some analyses have pointed out that with the increase in per capita disposable income of residents nationwide, the significant decrease in personal income from January to February may indicate that the overall basic income of residents is stable and has increased, but the income of the tax paying population of about 70 million people has fluctuated.