According to Norbert's classification, the relationship between accounting standards and tax system (hereinafter referred to as "the relationship between society and tax") has two modes. The first model is the unified model of accounting standards and tax system, that is, the tax system has greater influence on the accounting of a country's enterprises than generally accepted accounting standards, and France and Germany are typical representatives of this model. The second category is the separation model of accounting standards and tax system represented by Britain and the United States, that is, the accounting system and tax law are independent of each other, and taxpayers make corresponding adjustments according to the tax law when paying taxes.

Second, the relationship between accounting standards and tax system in China and its evolution.

In China, the relationship between society and taxation is called the relationship between financial accounting and tax accounting. At present, there are three representative views in the accounting theory circle in China: the first view is to advocate the integration of tax accounting and financial accounting, referred to as "unification theory"; The second view is that tax accounting and financial accounting should be coordinated, referred to as "coordination theory"; The third view holds that tax accounting and financial accounting should be properly separated, which is called "separation theory" or "independence theory" for short. In practice, China's "relationship between society and taxation" experienced a process from unification to separation and then to coordination. Before 1993, accounting was basically determined by tax law, and accounting standards and tax system were unified. Accounting system and tax system are basically the same in the recognition and measurement of assets, liabilities, income, expenses and profits. The implementation of 1993 "Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises" and the establishment of 1994 current tax system have made the accounting profits and taxable income of Chinese enterprises appear obvious differences for the first time, which opened the prelude to the separation of accounting and tax law. At the beginning of 1999, the northeast pharmaceutical incident occurred in the securities market, and then the Ministry of Finance issued the document 16, stipulating that the state finance and taxation shall not interfere with enterprise accounting. 200 1 The Accounting System for Enterprises puts forward that the accounting system should be consistent with the tax laws and regulations as far as possible, and the inconsistencies should be properly separated, and tax adjustment can be adopted. So far, China's "relationship between society and taxation" is in a coordinated mode, which insists on separation and tries to coordinate the differences caused by separation.

Thirdly, the relationship between accounting standards and tax system under the new enterprise income tax is analyzed.

In February 2006, the Ministry of Finance promulgated 1 basic standards and 38 specific accounting standards, which marked the establishment of a new accounting standards system in line with international standards. In March, 2007, the Tenth National People's Congress passed the "? The Enterprise Income Tax Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) unifies the income tax laws of domestic and foreign-funded enterprises. China's accounting standards and tax system are still in a coordinated mode, but the differences between the new accounting standards and the new income tax law show new characteristics, mainly in the following aspects:

(1) Exchange of non-monetary assets

Accounting standards stipulate that if the exchange of non-monetary assets has commercial essence and its fair value can be measured reliably, the fair value of the exchanged assets and the relevant taxes and fees payable should be regarded as the cost of the exchanged assets; On the contrary, the cost of exchanging assets should be determined according to the book value of the exchanged assets. The tax law takes the fair value of assets and relevant taxes and fees payable as tax basis.

(2) Assets acquired through business combination

Accounting standards stipulate that in a business combination under the same control, assets shall be measured according to the book value of the combined account of the merged party; For business combinations not under the same control, assets shall be measured at fair value. The tax law stipulates that enterprises implement taxable merger, and the taxable cost of assets is confirmed at fair value; In case of tax-free merger of enterprises, the taxable cost shall be confirmed according to the book value.

(3) Assets measured at fair value

Accounting standards stipulate that changes in fair value at the end of the period are included in current profits and losses or owners' equity. According to the provisions of the tax law, changes in fair value belong to unrealized gains and losses, which should be taxed or deducted when realized.

(4) Asset impairment loss

Accounting standards stipulate that at the end of the period, the book value of assets will be compared with the net realizable value or recoverable amount, and the small part will be accrued for asset impairment and included in the current profit and loss. According to the tax law, the provision for bad debts based on 0.5% of the book balance of accounts receivable can be deducted before tax, while the provision for impairment of other assets can not be deducted before tax, and can only be deducted before tax when the loss actually occurs.

(5) Depreciation of fixed assets

Accounting standards stipulate that enterprises should choose depreciation methods according to the way of realizing the economic benefits contained in fixed assets and reasonably determine the depreciation period of fixed assets. The tax law stipulates that the depreciation method adopts the straight-line method in principle, and stipulates the minimum depreciation period of various fixed assets.

(vi) Intangible assets

According to accounting standards, the expenses incurred in the research stage of self-developed intangible assets are expensed, but the expenses incurred in the development stage are allowed to be capitalized on the premise of meeting relevant conditions. The tax law stipulates that the expenses incurred in the research stage can be deducted in full before tax, and the eligible expenses can be deducted by 50%. Intangible assets are amortized by the straight-line method, and the amortization period is not less than 10 year.

(7) Selling goods by stages

Accounting standards stipulate that the collection of the contract or agreement price is deferred. If it is financing, the amount of income from selling goods shall be determined according to the fair value of the contract or agreement price receivable. If the tax law stipulates that the contract or agreement price is delayed, the tax law shall determine the taxable income according to the contract or agreement price receivable.

(8) Borrowing expenses

In accounting standards, the actual interest expense of special loan in the current period is determined as the capitalized amount of interest expense of special loan after deducting the interest income obtained by depositing unused loan funds in the bank or the investment income obtained by temporary investment; Capitalized amount of general loan interest expense = weighted average of accumulated asset expenditure exceeding special loan × capitalization rate of occupied general loan. According to the tax law, reasonable borrowing costs incurred by an enterprise in its production and operation activities that do not need capitalization are allowed to be deducted. Where enterprise loans are used to purchase and build fixed assets, intangible assets and inventories that can be sold for more than 65,438+02 months, the reasonable borrowing costs incurred in the process of purchasing and building related assets shall be included in the cost of related assets as capital expenditures.

(9) Business entertainment expenses, advertising expenses and public welfare donations.

According to accounting standards, it can be deducted in full. According to the tax law, the business entertainment expenses related to the production and business activities of an enterprise shall be deducted according to 60% of the amount incurred, but the maximum amount shall not exceed 0.5% of the sales (business) income of that year. Under the condition that the conditions are met, the proportion of general advertising expenses that can be deducted before tax is 15% of sales (business) income in the current year, and the excess is allowed to be deducted in future years. If the public welfare donation expenses incurred by an enterprise are within 12% of the total annual profit, they are allowed to be deducted when calculating the taxable income.

Fourth, thinking about the relationship between accounting standards and tax system under the new enterprise income tax

The foothold of accounting standards is to provide investors with useful information for decision-making, ignoring the demand of tax authorities for accounting information. Article 13 of the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises-Basic Standards clearly stipulates that "the accounting information provided by enterprises should be related to the economic decision-making needs of users of financial accounting reports, which is helpful for users of financial accounting reports to evaluate or predict the past, present or future situation of enterprises." In other words, it is clear that the enterprise accounting standards system focuses on the supply and demand of high-quality accounting information, and requires financial reports to provide useful information for accounting information users while reflecting the entrusted responsibility of enterprise management. The purpose of formulating enterprise income tax laws and regulations is to ensure that enterprise income tax is collected in full and on time to meet the needs of government public expenditure. Because tax collection is free, taxpayers will not take the initiative to pay taxes or even try to evade taxes. Therefore, when formulating enterprise income tax laws and regulations, it will reduce the selectivity of taxpayers' handling methods and prevent taxpayers from calculating less income and more expenses. Therefore, the contradiction between accounting objectives and tax law objectives intensifies the difference between the new accounting standards and income tax law.

At the same time, in order to ensure the authenticity of accounting information, the new accounting standards not only pay attention to the application of the principle of substance over form and importance, but also introduce the attribute of fair value measurement. This means that accountants have more choices within the scope of the standards, and the standards expand the space for accounting professional judgment. The application of fair value and the determination of commercial essence are inseparable from the subjective judgment of accountants. The enterprise income tax law has the seriousness of the law, and the confirmation and measurement of any tax-related matters must have a clear legal basis and cannot be estimated. At the same time, in order to facilitate tax collection and management and try to avoid disputes between tax authorities and taxpayers due to different subjective judgments, the enterprise income tax law emphasizes legal basis and legal form when determining tax-related matters. The contradiction between the application of accounting professional judgment and the statutory principle of taxation intensifies the difference between accounting standards and income tax law.

China is in the period of economic transformation, and the difference between accounting standards and tax system is getting bigger and bigger. How to coordinate the "tax-related relationship" so as to reduce the system conversion cost, tax cost and tax risk of enterprises is a very realistic problem. If the difference between accounting standards and tax system is too large, the increased cost due to a large number of tax adjustments will be huge, which may cause taxpayers to set up different account books, but at present, China does not have an independent financial accounting and tax accounting environment. Therefore, it is a realistic choice at this stage to strengthen coordination, narrow differences and maintain a moderate separation between accounting standards and tax system. (Zhou Wenhua)