刚才第一位记者讲到两会的时候提到机构改革，这次国务院机构改革还包括了国税和地税的合并，这令我想起了一件事。我参加一次座谈会，有专家跟我说他去调研时发现，在餐馆里边吃饭是由地税向餐馆收营业税，而要打包带走就由国税来收增值税。他问当地有关方面，要是站在餐馆门槛上吃该由哪个部门来收税啊？当时对方给他的回答是“你这是抬杠”。但在现实当中的确有这样的事情。我们这几年通过推动营改增、取消营业税，实现了税收以共享税为主，这样国税、地税合并就有了基础，可以避免多头收税、干扰企业的行为。所以放要放出活力，管要管出公平。管也是要触动利益的。

　　“利民之事，丝发必兴”。推进改革、做好政府工作，就是要为公、唯实、利民。我们要努力为市场主体优化营商环境、为人民群众提供办事便利，敢于自我革命。只要是为了人民的利益，我们万难不辞、万险不避。

We believe that a vibrant market and care for the people should go hand in hand. Compliance oversight should not cause undue inconveniences to average citizens. In this round of government institutional reform, for example, we have decided to merge the various market regulatory bodies in order to slim down the ranks of officials who deal with market entities on a daily basis and exercise unified law enforcement.

The first reporter who asked a question mentioned government institutional reform. One part of it is to combine the state and local tax offices at and below the provincial-level. This actually reminds me of a recent discussion I had with a group of scholars. One of these experts had been doing some local research, and discovered that if you sit and eat in a restaurant, the local tax office collects business tax. But if you order takeaway, the state tax office collects VAT. So he asked a tax officer: what if I stand and eat in the doorway of the restaurant? Who collects the tax then? The officer replied, "That's just nitpicking for the sake of it." But actually it's true that this kind of problem exists. 

In recent years as you may know, we have introduced the reform to replace business tax with value added tax. This has enabled the sharing of tax revenues and provided the foundation for the merging of tax authorities at the central and local levels to avoid duplications that burden businesses. So all in all, our regulatory rollback and compliance oversight will contribute to a more energized market and the creation of a level playing field. I should also add that vested interests will be dealt with in the enhanced compliance oversight process. 

Nothing is too small for us to do if it delivers concrete benefits to our people. The ultimate purpose of all reform measures and endeavors of the government is to serve the common good, be results-oriented, and benefit the people. In this regard, the government will further reform itself to foster a better business environment for market players, and make it easier for our people to access government services. In so doing, this government will rise up to all challenges and press ahead against all odds.