Top legislature to withdraw taxation authority by 2020

China's top legislature said Wednesday that a 1985 resolution, which authorized the State Council to levy business tax, will be nullified by 2020.

By 2020, all current taxes will be set by legislation, said a statement from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

Of China's 18 existing taxes, only three -- individual income tax, corporate income tax, and vehicle and vessel tax -- are levied through legislation, while the rest are imposed through formal or provisional regulations issued by the State Council.

The State Council had been given the authority to levy business taxes in 1985, several years after the beginning of the reform and opening-up drive.

This dissolution of power will be a tough task and requires resolve to break barriers and change mentality, the statement said, adding that the top legislature will realize statutory taxation as early as possible.