For years, local budgets depended on booming land sales and VAT income. Now, both are falling – and Beijing faces some tough choices

As China drafts its 15th five-year plan – the next entry in a line of expansive blueprints that have set the tone for the country’s development over more than seven decades – we examine how these documents inform and reflect high-level policy priorities, and what to expect in the coming iteration, such as how it could help alleviate local-level financial woes.

In late March, an announcement by the central Hubei province sent a shiver down the spines of wealthy individuals across China: a local resident had been forced to pay 1.41 million yuan (US$200,000) in back taxes and late fees on undeclared overseas income.

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