Calls are rising for the government to again raise the income tax threshold after growth in the tax take for the first half of the year far outstripped economic growth, the China Securities Journal reported. China took US$31.3 billion (RMB213.5 billion) in personal income tax over the period, up 27.3% year-on-year, while gross domestic product (GDP) grew just 10.4%, State Administration of Taxation figures show. The government raised the taxable income threshold from US$235 to US$293 (RMB1,600 to RMB2,000) in March. "It is unreasonable that growth of personal income tax was faster than GDP," said Wei Jie, a professor with the School of Management at Tsinghua University. "The sharp gain indicated the RMB400 increase was far from enough; I think the threshold should be US$733 (RMB5,000) since inflation rose 7.9% year-on-year in the first half." He accepted his proposal was just a dream for the time being but was adamant inflation should be taken into account when adjusting the threshold. “RMB5,000 a month in a city like Shanghai means just a basic livelihood," he said. Xu Shanda, former deputy director of the tax office, said earlier that a further rise in the personal income tax threshold was possible.