About 341,000 high income earners in Beijing have declared their annual income, according to sources with the Beijing Taxation Bureau Monday.

The number has seen a rise of 86,000 people, or 34 percent, on that of the last year, in a city where the population is more than 17 million.

Those who declared their annual incomes are mainly from industries of finance, services, software, telecoms, energy, real estate and education.

Under China's new tax law which was launched in 2007, people with annual incomes exceeding 120,000 yuan (about US$16,000) must file tax declarations within the first three months after the end of a tax year, or within the period from January 1 - March 31.

The city's high-income earners are required by the State Administration of Taxation (SAT) to file personal income tax returns voluntarily before April 2.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2008)