[Integrated] China's environmental protection tax will be determined from next year

The State Administration of Taxation recently issued a message: The “Environmental Protection Tax Law” will come into effect on January 1, 2018. At present, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of most provinces in China has recently reviewed and approved the environmental protection tax scheme in the region, paving the way for the introduction of environmental taxes. All localities have taken into consideration the environmental carrying capacity of the region, the current status of pollutant discharge, and the economic and social ecological development target requirements, and have established a tax plan within the legal scope.

It is reported that as China’s first single tax law that specifically embodies the “green tax system” and promotes the construction of ecological civilization, the environmental tax law stipulates that the tax range of taxable atmospheric pollutants is 1.2 yuan to 12 yuan per pollution equivalent, and the tax amount of water pollutants For each pollution equivalent of 1.4 yuan to 14 yuan, the determination and adjustment of the specific applicable tax amount can be decided by the standing committees of local people's congresses within the scope of the statutory tax amount.

At present, the applicable tax amounts for taxable air pollutants and water pollutants in Liaoning, Jilin, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang are levied according to the minimum amount determined by the environmental tax law, that is, for each pollution equivalent. 1.2 yuan and 1.4 yuan.

The tax amounts set by Guizhou, Yunnan, and other provinces (autonomous regions) in Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Southwest China are slightly higher than the minimum amount prescribed by the environmental tax law. Among them, Yunnan provides that from January to December of 2018, the environmental protection tax will be 1.2 yuan for each pollutant of air pollutants, 1.4 yuan for each pollutant of water pollutants, and 2.8 yuan for each pollutant of air pollutants from January 2019 onwards. , Water pollutants per pollution equivalent 3.5 yuan.

The taxes determined by Jiangsu, Hainan and Sichuan are moderate. Among them, Jiangsu stipulates that the amount of tax for air pollutants and water pollutants is 4.8 yuan and 5.6 yuan per pollution equivalent, and 3.9 yuan and 2.8 yuan for Sichuan.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and neighboring provinces generally set higher specific tax rates for air pollutants and water pollutants. The Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress that was held recently decided that the applicable tax for Beijing's taxable atmospheric pollutants shall be RMB 12 per pollution equivalent, and the applicable tax for the taxable water pollutants shall be RMB 14 per pollution equivalent, which shall be enforced according to the upper limit of the tax amount prescribed by the environmental tax law. . Hebei Province divides the environmental taxes of major atmospheric pollutants and major pollutants into three grades, which are respectively implemented at 8x, 5x, and 4x the minimum standards stipulated in the environmental tax law. The highest level of taxation is: taxable atmospheric pollutants per pollution equivalent of 9.6 yuan, and taxable water pollutants per pollution equivalent of 11.2 yuan. Other pollutants are subject to unified standards across the province and are enforced at 4 times the minimum amount stipulated in the environmental tax law.

In addition to higher taxes in Beijing and Hebei provinces, Shandong Province will also implement higher air pollutants, but will treat different types of air pollutants differently. According to the plan determined by the province, the tax amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the taxable atmospheric pollutants is 6 yuan per pollution equivalent, and 1.2 yuan per pollution equivalent of other atmospheric pollutants.

The reporter learned that changing environmental protection fees from environmental protection agencies to tax authorities to collect environmental taxes will increase the rigidity of law enforcement and strengthen corporate responsibility for pollution reduction. As a more standardized, stable, and mandatory measure, the introduction of a green tax will release a clear signal to the company to “control and reduce pollutant emissions, protect and improve the ecological environment”. In this regard, related companies not only pay close attention to it, but also have begun to actively take measures to reduce emissions, and strive to reduce tax costs.

“The introduction of the environmental protection tax has added another “sweeping spell” to the polluting enterprises. However, this can also force corporate transformation and upgrading. Over the years, Xinhua Pharmaceutical has never “cut corners” in environmental protection, and has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the construction of the company. The environmental protection projects such as high-concentration waste water treatment plants, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide absorption facilities have gradually reduced the total discharge of pollutants, and it is believed that the company will enjoy more opportunities in the future market.” said Zhang Daiming, Chairman of Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. .

Luan Aizheng, general manager of Anhui Huadian Liu'an Power Plant Co., Ltd., said that environmental protection fees and environmental protection taxes have allowed the company to feel that the country’s environmental protection efforts are becoming more and more severe. Once again, the stringent emission reduction input has been tightened. On the one hand, the company will continue to increase the investment in environmental protection special funds and environmental protection technology transformation; on the other hand, the related preferential tax, reduction and exemption of environmental protection tax is also a huge attraction for the company, and the company will actively participate in research and development and application of pollutant emission purification. The new technology allows pollutants to be processed more efficiently. “We must make contributions to the local economic development, but also to protect green mountains and green mountains to achieve a win-win situation for enterprise development and environmental protection.” Yanai Zheng said.