Media said the draft environmental protection tax or a year consideration of

A large coal mine in Xiaoyi city of Shanxi province is mining operations (source: CFP)

According to the economic information daily reported that environmental protection is in the final tax bill is adequate at present, will be the fastest at the end of this year by the State Council examined and adopted the draft. Environmental experts say that environmental protection tax law draft is expected to be submitted to the national people's Congress for deliberation in the first half of next year, which means that the scale of tens of billions of Yuan of environmental protection tax levied each year.

Use of tax to curb environmental pollution and improve the ecological quality of theoretical discussion for a long time, practice of States is increasingly rich. In our country, with the aim of environmental protection provisions of the tax system is not uncommon. Current consumption tax, vehicle and vessel tax, vehicle purchase tax and corporate income tax, there are provisions related to protection of the environment. Central deep restructuring of the Conference the

On June 10, 2015, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council published on the website of the People's Republic of China environmental protection tax (draft for soliciting opinions) (hereinafter "draft environmental tax"). This means a special-purpose taxes aimed at protecting the environment becomes an independent part of our tax system, is another important theory of tax practices for environmental protection. How to build a truly eco-friendly tax system and related to the effective functioning of the management system, requires constant effort and continuous improvement.

This reporter has learned, or clear the draft environmental protection tax, tax objects classified as air pollutants, water pollution, solid waste and noise 4, taxed to current standards of sewage charges flat. Emission of the total to exceed, Super, double taxation.

Su Ming, Deputy Director of the finance section of the Ministry, said: "relevant departments to increase sewage charges in the second half of last year's standard, overall, I think the environment tax basic panning over charges of tax, tax rates are relatively modest. "

National development and Reform Commission, Ministry of finance and the Ministry of environmental protection jointly issued the notice, before the end of June 2015, provincial (district, municipal) waste gas collecting fees to be adjusted every pollution equivalent to not less than 1.2 Yuan, sewage pollution equivalent fee collection standards are not less than 1.4. Since 2003 compared to the standards of sewage charges, fees for sewage and waste gas pollutant emission standards has doubled.

Institute Zhang bin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of social sciences, finance strategy says: "the first step is to complete the environmental tax reform, which is imposed by the specification. Future tax rates tax tables might tune. "

Zhang believes that now deteriorating environmental problems, and low standards of sewage charges, environmental tax ideal frame of reference is the cost of pollution. From this point of view, the exposure draft rate standard overall was low, does not exclude the possibility of slightly higher tax burden as a whole.

Tax law society, said Liu Jianwen, China: "sewage charge to environmental taxation in the process of transition, should not be increased too much, taking into account the affordability of the enterprises, roughly the present sewage charges is more appropriate, but if based on a slight increase in the sewage charges is not impossible. "

Concerned has previously said the environmental protection system, China's sewage charges levy on enterprises above the designated size rate of 90% per cent. But some monitoring or distributed enterprises, the collection rate is still relatively low. "Local administrative interventions affect the rate of collection of sewage charges and other non-operational factors cannot be ruled out. "

"Environmental tax law enforcement would be more stringent in the future, the original charges likely uncollectable, agreement fee. Strict tax collection and administration in the future, may be the burden of enterprises will be increased. "Zhang bin said.

According to the national environment statistics bulletin, 2014 sewage to understand storage amount paid 18.68 billion yuan. Experts say fees into tax, the size of the annual environmental protection tax should be higher than the scale of sewage charges, or tens of billions of Yuan.

In addition, experts say that environmental protection tax law is likely to give some tax autonomy. "There are two possible ways: one is the legal tax rates provided for in local custom; the second is a unified floating rate determined by the national people's Congress, then place in a floating rate determined within the scope of local tax rates. "Said Liu Jianwen, the second is more likely.

Zhang bin says: "local characteristics of environmental protection tax, the carrying capacity of the environment of each place is different, should give place in areas such as the tax rate, the tax base must be authorized. However, the exposure draft referred to in ' proper float ' is too elastic, need to be clearly defined what circumstances can float. Raising taxes under the pretext of preventing local environmental protection is actually to get more revenue. "

Our focus encourages pollution control areas and economically-developed areas to develop sewage fee collection standards above the national standard. "Beijing and Tianjin to improve greatly to achieve adjusted several times as many of the new standards, standard 10 times the level of sewage charges is equivalent to adjustment times. "Su Ming says," fee to tax, the tax rate is expected to be higher than most parts of the country between the two places. "

Environmental protection allocation of tax revenues between the Central and local experts say not stipulated in the environmental protection tax. But experts said most of the interview should be under local ownership.

"Environmental protection responsibilities are mainly local. Contaminants will affect the local area, the externality is relatively small, emission information are mainly local master, local governments should take environmental protection responsibilities. Therefore environmental protection tax should be about 80% and 20% Central. "Zhang bin said. Liu Jianwen we recommend that transferred all of the income.

It is understood that the environmental protection tax will be independent of the new tax system in our country, have implemented more than 30 years of discharge fee system based on the modification form. Earlier, in 2001, the vehicle purchase tax to replace the existing vehicle purchase surcharge, first "tax reform" of its kind. 2009 road toll was replaced by oil consumption tax. Levying environment protection tax is "tax reform" is an important advance.