On June 10, 2015, the Legal Affairs Office of the State Council issued the “Environmental Protection Tax Law (Draft for Comment)†jointly drafted by the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinion Draftâ€), and solicited opinions from all sectors of the society. The environmental tax collection, which has been brewing for nearly a decade, will also enter the countdown. Bracket & Roller Frame Series,Cement Plant Belt,Cement Plant Belt Ep900,Cement Plant Belt Ep500 HEBEI GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD , https://www.hebeiglobalbelt.com
Liu Jianwen, a professor at Peking University Law School, told reporters: "The double taxation of environmental protection tax and the new environmental protection law implemented in 2015 are consistent in the overall spirit. The punishment is so great that it has never been seen in the current tax law."
Excessive emissions are subject to double taxation
In recent years, due to the severe environmental situation, environmental governance is being used from a single administrative means to a diversified approach. The industry has called for environmental taxes to be getting closer and closer. As early as 2013, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee proposed to promote environmental protection fees and tax reforms; during the 2015 National Conference, Premier Li Keqiang’s government work report also emphasized the need to do a good job in environmental tax legislation.
According to Liu Jianwen, according to the requirements of the central legislation, the environmental tax law is a method that needs to be preceded.
The opinion draft delineates that taxpayers of environmental protection tax are enterprises and institutions and other producers and operators who directly discharge taxable pollutants to the environment in the Chinese territory and other jurisdictions under their jurisdiction; taxable pollution in terms of taxation scope Materials include atmospheric pollutants, water pollutants, solid waste, construction noise and industrial noise, and other pollutants.
It is worth noting that the tax standards stipulated in the opinion draft are basically consistent with the current standards for the collection of sewage charges, but severe penalties are imposed on the behavior of exceeding the standard and exceeding the total amount of pollutants discharged.
The opinion draft emphasizes that if the pollutant discharge concentration value is higher than the national or local pollutant discharge standard, or if the pollutant discharge amount is higher than the specified total discharge amount, it shall be calculated according to the local applicable tax standard twice; If the emission concentration value is higher than the pollutant discharge standard stipulated by the state or locality, and the pollutant discharge amount is higher than the specified total discharge amount, it shall be calculated according to the local applicable tax amount standard of three times.
Liu Jianwen said that the intensity of punishment is not in the current tax law.
Environmental tax law introduced or earlier than expected
In recent years, the dispute over environmental taxes has never been interrupted. Under the requirements of the national “fee-to-tax reformâ€, the fee-based tax reform in the environmental field has also become an important part. However, the affordability of enterprises after fees and taxes has become one of the focuses of controversy.
Some industry experts told reporters that the purpose of levying environmental taxes is to promote protection and improve the environment, to promote energy conservation and emission reduction, and to levy environmental taxes is a pressure on enterprises.
An official in the field of environmental protection said in an interview with reporters: "Before everyone worried that the cost of industrial enterprises would be worse after the environmental tax was added. Especially, the current economic downturn is so serious. I think the environmental tax is 10 years later, if it was 10 years earlier, when the economic situation was good at the time, the effect would be very good, and now it is really stressful."
However, in the view of Jia Kang, the director of the former Ministry of Finance's Institute of Fiscal Science, it is necessary to seize the favorable opportunity for the current major energy prices to be low, accelerate environmental tax legislation, and promote environmental tax reform as soon as possible.
During the 2015 National Conference, Jia Kang said that the recent downturn in the market price of coal prices in the near future and the easing of inflationary pressures also provided an important opportunity to levy environmental taxes. At this time, the environmental tax is levied, and enterprises are more likely to digest. Therefore, the operating costs of enterprises brought about by rising environmental costs are increasing, and the impact on the overall economic operation at the macro level is also small. At the same time, because environmental issues are prominent, the public has a high voice for introducing more environmental protection measures. With public propaganda, it can also highlight the role of environmental taxes in promoting energy conservation and emission reduction.
The dispute over environmental taxes has a long time. Although some "hard bones" that hinder the promotion of environmental taxes still exist, from the content of the draft for comments, some differences should have been basically resolved. Liu Jianwen believes that according to the central government's "Environmental Tax Law" before 2020, it will definitely come out, but the environmental tax law will not wait until then, and it may be introduced in the next two years.