中央首提解决地方财政困难，释放什么信号？

Core Viewpoint - The central government has placed significant emphasis on addressing local fiscal difficulties, marking the first time this issue has been highlighted in the Central Economic Work Conference since 2000. The focus is on ensuring the "three guarantees" at the grassroots level and improving the local tax system [1][5]. Group 1: Local Fiscal Challenges - Local fiscal expenditures generally exceed revenues, necessitating reliance on central government transfers and debt to cover deficits. In the first ten months of this year, local public budget revenues were approximately 10.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%, while expenditures reached about 19.1 trillion yuan, up 1.2% [2]. - The decline in real estate market revenues has significantly impacted local government finances, with land transfer income expected to be around 4.8 trillion yuan in 2024, a decrease of about 45% from the peak of 8.7 trillion yuan in 2021 [2][3]. - The mismatch between fiscal rights and responsibilities remains a critical issue, with nearly 50% of county-level finances having a self-sufficiency rate below 30%. Even with central transfers, the coverage of expenditures is only 86% [4]. Group 2: Policy Responses and Reforms - The Central Economic Work Conference has called for the improvement of the local tax system, which includes three key areas: shifting the consumption tax collection to local levels, refining the VAT refund policy, and merging certain local taxes into a single local surcharge [7][8]. - The government aims to increase local fiscal autonomy by adjusting the sharing ratio of shared taxes, which include VAT, corporate income tax, and personal income tax, to enhance local revenue [8]. - Experts suggest that to address the fiscal shortfall caused by the real estate downturn, the central government should increase transfer payments or raise local debt limits, thereby restoring local governments' capacity to stimulate economic growth [9][12]. Group 3: Immediate and Long-term Solutions - Immediate liquidity injection is deemed essential to alleviate current fiscal pressures, while long-term solutions involve systemic reforms to the local tax structure [8][9]. - Local governments are encouraged to optimize their fiscal spending by enhancing the efficiency of fund usage and reducing unnecessary expenditures through zero-based budgeting reforms [11]. - The central government is also considering shifting certain responsibilities, such as social security and public safety, to reduce the fiscal burden on local governments [12].