China is unlikely to introduce fuel oil tax this year as officials from
various government departments failed to reach a consensus on the move last week, central government
officials
said.
The State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC), which is
responsible for the country's oil price regulation, summoned a ministerial
meeting on the planned fuel oil tax on Sept. 15, the Beijing-based
Economic Information Daily reported Monday.
Sixteen government ministries were present at the meeting, including
the State Administration of Taxation, the ministries of finance,
agriculture, communications, construction and commerce, and the general
administrations of customs and civil aviation.
Following the meeting, a SDRC official said it seems the proposed fuel
oil tax program will not be introduced this year because too many
difficult problems remain unsolved.
In a separate report published on Tuesday, the newspaper said conflicts
of interests among various government departments, and between the central
and local governments were the fundamental reason behind the failure by
the departments to reach an agreement.
The proposal on introducing fuel oil tax was put forward in 1994.
In January 2001 and early 2002, Finance Minister Jin Renqing, then
director general of the State Administration of Taxation, said China will
introduce the fuel oil tax program at an opportune time.
Xie Xuren, Jin's successor, also made similar remarks last January when
asked to comment on the government's plan on fuel oil tax reform.
Without a fuel oil tax, China has been instead
collecting road preset maintenance
fee
from automobile users no matter how much gasoline or
diesel oil they use.
The fee, which exceeds 100 billion yuan (12 billion US dollars) each
year, has been collected by the country's Ministry of Communications,
which employs 270,000 to do the job, according to the newspaper.
Under the proposed fuel oil tax program, the paper said, the ministry
will no longer collect the fee, the taxation authorities will take over
the job, but will have to make job arrangements for those 270,000
employees.
Chinese farmers, who have been exempted from the fee for using
automotive vehicle, will have to pay more for gasoline and diesel oil.
The newspaper said the central government is considering oil subsidies
for those farmers, but it is likely the subsidies will go to the wrong
hands who may pretend to be users of automotive vehicle.
Subsidies for tax drivers will be another big problem, the paper said.
The country's auto sector will sustain great impact by the introduction
of fuel oil tax, the paper said, quoting auto industry sources.
Manufacturers of fuel-efficient auto vehicles will benefit from the
proposed tax, while producers of those less efficient vehicles, such as
SUV and MPV, will suffer to varying degrees, the sources said.
Despite the
problems, the Chinese government said the proposed tax will be introduced.
(Xinhua) |