China to Get Emissions Tax?
From UPI
China has indicated it plans to introduce a tax on carbon dioxide emissions.
Jia Chen, who heads the tax policy division at the Ministry of Finance, in a posting on the ministry’s website, said China would introduce a set of new taxation policies aimed at preserving the environment, reports state-run Xinhua news agency.
While Jia didn’t indicate tax amounts or a possible timetable, in 2011 the ministry had proposed a levy starting at $1.60 per ton of carbon, rising to $8 per ton by 2020.
Jia’s article comes amid record levels of air pollution in Beijing in the past month, sometimes reaching 30 times higher than levels considered safe by the World Health Organization. China is the world’s biggest emitter of carbon.
Earlier this month, the State Council called for domestic oil refiners to accelerate the process of introducing cleaner transport fuels.
Jia said the government would collect an environmental protection tax instead of pollutant discharge fees.
