Higher tax on pollution in China
CHINA WATCH The Chinese government plans to raise the tax on environmental pollution, because it thinks current taxes are too low to stop firms polluting.
As Chinadaily reports:
“The taxes and fees on environment are insufficient and nonstandard to rein in the use of fossil fuel,” said Chang, a research fellow with the law institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Without an effective tax system, pollution monitoring authorities tend to randomly charge “pollution fees”, usually “a small amount” compared to the lucrative business of major polluters, said Chang.
The new tax, dubbed “green tax”, will be effective in handling environmental charges. It will mainly tax on pollution discharge of sewage and sulfur dioxide, according to Wang Fengnian, associate professor with the Beijing-based Tsinghua University.
Greenbang isn’t too sure this is going to work, though. The thing is, what China lacks is not good regulations or laws, but a means of implementing and enforcing these laws properly. Which is a shame.
