China's Tax Integrity in Context of the Emerging International Tax System

This article looks at the emergent systematic interconnectivity, or "ecosystem," of the world's multiple income tax regimes and how this integration can spread ineffectiveness and corruption from one state to another. Against this background, it is proposed that the bureaucratic deficiencies of China's income taxation may provoke a more important and negative impact on foreign taxation regimes than on China itself. It is also argued that the constraints of the prevailing norms of international taxation exacerbate the problem of corruption as China is pressed to impose concepts of integrity unsuited to its institutional context. Harmonization of tax cultures must accommodate China's distinctive environment.