环境保护税法是什么？一文讲清

Environment Protection Tax Law



Environment Protection Tax Law (the "EPTL"), which was promulgated in 2016 and came into effect on 1st January 2018, is the first law on environmental protection taxation in China. It serves as a key tool for environmental protection, clarifying the unclear boundaries between environmental regulation and taxation—which is a difficult problem. In this essay, the background, structure, taxation mechanism and the impact of the new EPTL are examined.

Background

The EPTL was approved by the 13th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 26 December 2016, and decreed its official operator by the State Council of China a month later. It is a facial recognition of the public’s growing awareness of environmental protection as well as China’s effort in tackling the issue since the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015. With the EPTL, the Chinese Government addressed the issues of pollution and ecological rehabilitation which has been raised both domestically and internationally.

While initially all the public’s attention has been towards the fee and subsidy programme, the government has since shifted its focus on taxation—making environment protection the centre of the plan instead of just an add-on. The responding mechanism of imposing taxes on polluting companies and offering them subsidies on energy saving and environmental protection has proven to be more efficient than the previous fix fee-subsidy strategy.

Structure and Mechanism

The EPTL is composed of 8 Chapters and 53 Articles, providing details on taxation, exemptions, reduction and management aspects with regard to air and water emissions, solid waste disposal and other pollutants. Chapter 1 discusses the scope, development and commencement of the EPTL, Chapter 2 outlines the tax basic principles, Chapter 3 elucidated the levy and management aspect, Chapter 4 deals with the taxation of emissions of pollutants, Chapter 5 sets the standards for pollution sources, Chapter 6 sets the standards for collecting, recycling and disposing of solid waste, Chapter 7 defines the taxation of usage of energy, while Chapter 8 and the final Chapter deals with taxation management.

The EPTL follows the “polluter-pays” principle, which implies that enterprises that discharge pollutants and residues would be levied with taxable items. This can be termed as a “carrot-and-stick” regulatory strategy, with the objective of providing incentives and punishing those who fail to meet environmental protection standard. The taxation of the discharge of pollutants is on two aspects: the quantity of emissions and their component, while the taxation of energy usage involves the taxation of resources and other charges, with taxation based on each unit of energy usage.

To deal with issues such as inaccurate and incomplete data regarding pollution-causing activities and lack of willingness of the polluters to fulfill their obligations and duties, the scope of the Punishment Regulation, an essential part of the EPTL, was expanded in April 2018. It applies both to individual and legal entities and a Party that has violated the provisions stipulated in the EPA shall have his/her/its rights and interests lawfully reduced.

Impact

Several industrial sectors will be affected by the new EPTL, with the industrial sector expected to be the major contributor to the environmental protection taxation. The EPTL might further impact the energy source and the resources used in production processes. This could potentially lead to a shift towards a greener economy, as more enterprises will be incentivized to make energy saving and environment protection investments.

At the local level, local governments are advised to define targets, determine levyable range and carry out eventual inspection for effective implementation of the EPTL. These actions can effectively reduce the pollution and regulate the development of the local environment.

In conclusion, the EPTL is expected to bring in long-term benefits to the local environment. The legislation should be perfected and implemented in a comprehensive way, and the necessary technical sills should be developed in order to make sure that the taxation achieves its desired effect. The rippling failure of the “Polluter Pays” should be noted, as it could potentially bring in unintended consequences. To prevent this, the implementation of the EPTL should be thoroughly and consciously supervised.