Following the "toughest" environmental inspections, the tool of environmental tax will also come to an end soon

By the end of 2016 by the National People's Congress examined and approved the Environmental Tax Law, will be January 1, 2018 formally implemented. The Environmental Tax Law lists tax items and tax amounts for green tax items. It also specifies that taxes on air and water pollutants are determined by the provincial government and reported to the provincial people's congress.

According to incomplete statistics from 21st Century Business Herald reporters, the provincial people's congresses such as Fujian and Guizhou have already passed the provincial tax program. Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces have already announced their plans for soliciting opinions. Guangxi and Sichuan provinces City government or business level research.

The original provincial sewage charges apply different standards, there are high and low, this time "fee tax" provinces have different ideas. In many provinces, the original sewage charges have been "shifted" to the environmental tax, while some provinces have raised their standards. Such as Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other plans to substantially shift the original sewage charges, Guangdong, Guizhou and other comprehensive consideration of the province's environmental carrying capacity (proposed) to raise the tax standards.

Multi-sectoral cooperation and active preparation

From the formal introduction of environmental taxes, there are less than 3 months time. At present, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and the MEP are conducting thorough investigations of tax sources, intensifying the investigation of enterprises and preparing for the smooth introduction of the environmental tax.

On December 25, 2016, the 25th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress passed the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China," and the Ministry's law will come into force on January 1, 2018.

On June 26, 2017, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Environmental Protection jointly issued the Regulations on the Implementation of the Tax Law of the People's Republic of China on Environmental Protection (draft for soliciting opinions), clarifying part of the environmental tax laws and disclosing opinions to the public .

At the end of June 2017, the State Administration of Taxation and MEPC signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Collaborative Mechanism of Collection and Management of Environmental Protection Tax, establishing a collection and management mechanism at the level of ministerial level and setting a model for strengthening the cooperation across departments.

In August 2017, the joint deployment of the three departments required that the preparations for the implementation of tax laws on environmental protection should be fully carried out. Various multisectoral coordination mechanisms under the leadership of the local people's government should be established throughout the country to determine the specific applicable taxes for taxable air pollutants and water pollutants in the region, Find out the base of the tax base, timely transfer of archives, pay close attention to the establishment of a database of basic tax sources and other work.

Before the National Day, the local taxation bureau of Beijing Municipality conducted a one-to-one verification and thorough survey on the information of 6,395 toll collectors on the enterprises involved in paying sewage charges. The Chongqing Local Taxation Bureau and the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on Environmental Protection Tax Collection and Management.

According to the person in charge of the Ministry of Environmental Protection Law Department, changing the environmental tax through sewage charges helps to increase the rigidity of law enforcement, reduce the interference of local governments and internalize the environmental costs.Environmental tax levied according to the amount of emissions, more than pay more row, less row less paid, help to promote environmental protection enterprises to improve and reduce pollutant emissions.

Environmental protection tax to take "enterprise reporting, tax collection, environmental protection, information sharing" collection and management mode, the enterprise to the tax department voluntarily declare the amount of sewage, the tax department approved the collection, there are questions can be submitted to the environmental protection department review.

A local Department of Finance Taxation Department responsible person on the 21st Century Business Herald reporter said the original charge of sewage charges have a certain degree of arbitration, "tax reform" in addition to follow the Environmental Tax Law, but also to comply with the tax collection and management law may involve late fees , Punishment, etc., the rigidity of law enforcement will be strengthened. The sewage charges were originally collected by the environmental protection department and will be levied by the tax authorities in the future. This will require the two departments to cooperate with each other to exert their respective advantages and monitor the approved duties. In the environmental protection department and the taxation department, .

However, there are grassroots tax people who told reporters in the 21st Century Business Herald that the environmental tax itself is rather complicated, and some links are difficult to identify.

Qiao Baoyun, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, told reporters in the 21st Century Business Herald that government fees and charges collected by a unified department can create economies of scale. The amount of taxes on environmental taxes is determined by the provincial government and is also a good attempt. However, the level of environmental tax collection, the need for departments to achieve information sharing, but also the formation of incentive-compatible mechanism, which tests the ability of local government governance.

Local taxes have been introduced

Official data show that from 2003 to 2015, a total of 211.699 billion yuan of sewage charges were collected across the country, and more than 5 million enterprises, public institutions and individual industrial and commercial households have paid sewage charges. Sewage charge was 17.3 billion yuan in 2015, with 280,000 paying households.

In August 2016, when the Environmental Tax Law (Draft) was deliberated by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the overall consideration of the legislation was explained. Under the principle of "tax shift", it was also pointed out that key issues should be highlighted, such as considering the differences Larger, allowing the local tax authorities within the scope of the standard, taxable pollutants applicable tax float.

According to the "Environmental Protection Tax Items Tax Scale" attached to the Environmental Tax Law, the applicable tax amount for atmospheric pollutants is 1.2 yuan to 12 yuan for each pollutant and the applicable tax for water pollutants is 1.4 yuan to 14 yuan for each pollutant.

In September 2014, the NDRC and other departments adjusted the collection standards of sewage charges, requiring all provinces to adjust the sewage charges of air and water pollutants to not less than 1.2 yuan and 1.4 yuan per pollution respectively by the end of June 2015 - The standard is the lower bound of the environmental tax.

However, the current provincial fees vary significantly. In seven provinces and municipalities, the adjusted charges are higher than the low standards stipulated in the circular. For example, adjusted fees in Beijing are 8-9 times of national minimum standards, 5-7 times in Tianjin, 3-6.5 times in Shanghai, 3-4 times for Jiangsu and 2-5 times for Hebei. Tariffs for air pollutants in Shandong are adjusted to 2.5-5 times the low standards and 1-2 times for Hubei.

The provinces also have different considerations in determining the amount of green tax applicable to future atmospheric and water pollutants.

On September 29, Fujian Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee approved the adoption of the Environmental Tax Fujian Province applicable tax and taxable pollutant programs, generally follow the "tax shift", some of the standards have increased. For example, the applicable tax amount for air pollutants in Fujian Province is RMB1.2 per pollution equivalent; for water pollutants, the five heavy metals (total mercury, total cadmium, total chromium, total arsenic and total lead), chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen 1.5 Yuan per pollution equivalent, and 1.4 Yuan per pollution equivalent to other water pollutants.

On September 30, Guizhou Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee examined and approved the Guizhou Province air pollutant tax standard of 2.4 yuan per pollution equivalent; and the water pollutant tax standard of 2.8 yuan per pollution equivalent - twice the current collection fee of Guizhou sewage charges.

In 2016, Guizhou Province collected sewage charges of 446 million yuan, far less than the annual expenditure of 8.534 billion yuan on environmental protection. Guizhou program pointed out that the current implementation of the national sewage charges in Guizhou minimum standards, still floating in the middle and lower levels, and neighboring provinces close to a certain extent, can be avoided with the surrounding provinces tax burden is too large and lead to "industry and pollution transfer" The negative effect.

From the provinces that have already announced the plan (not yet voted by the provincial people's congress Standing Committee), they basically follow these two paths: either move or go up.

Such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu follow the overall "tax translation." For example, the applicable tax amount for Zhejiang's air pollutants is 1.4 yuan per pollution, the applicable tax for the four types of heavy metal pollutants is 18 yuan for each pollution equivalent, the applicable tax for water pollution is 1.4 yuan for each pollution and the applicable tax for the five types of heavy metal pollutants is 1.8 yuan for each pollutant . The major pollutants in Jiangsu air pollutants and water pollutants levied standards were 4.8 yuan per pollution and 5.6 yuan.

Guangdong program is going up. On Sept. 30, Opinions on Draft Decision (draft) for Solving the Environmental Protection Tax for Atmospheric Pollutants and Water Pollutants in Guangdong Province were solicited from outside for advice and a polluted equivalent of air pollutants of 1.8 yuan was drafted in Guangdong Province. Pollutants per pollution Equivalent 2.8 yuan.

Zhang Bin, director of the Tax Research Center of the Academy of Financial and Economic Research Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences, told reporters in the 21st Century Business Herald that the standard of tax collection and management should be higher when the environmental tax is "tax reform". Under the current economic situation, it is necessary to give full play to environmental pollution control pollution , To promote enterprises to adopt more energy-saving technologies and equipment, but also take into account the capacity of enterprises, the reform needs to grasp the rhythm, balance of various factors.