|
CHINA> National
![]() |
|
Tax on big cars raised to save fuel
By Xin Zhiming (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-14 06:58 Taxes will be raised on big cars and reduced on smaller ones from Sept 1 to save energy and reduce pollution. Owners of cars with engines above 4-liter capacity will have to pay 40 percent tax, double the existing rate, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The tax for vehicles with engines between 3 and 4 liters will be up from 15 to 25 percent. And the tax on cars with engines below 1-liter capacity will be reduced from 3 to 1 percent. China is one of the biggest and fastest growing auto markets, with vehicles accounting for the lion's share of its gasoline. The proportion of imported oil to total consumption in the country has risen to about 50 percent, prompting it to adopt policies to improve energy efficiency, analysts said. The country has pledged to lower energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent and cut emission of major pollutants by 10 percent during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10). Last year, however, it could not meet its annual target of 4 percent reduction, falling short by 0.34 percentage points. Cars with engines between 3 and 4 liters sold the most last year. The increase in their sales was phenomenal: six-fold to 12,100 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has said. In contrast, the sale of cars with engines below 1 liter fell 31 percent to 251,700 units. In another vital step to reduce the use of energy, the government increased gasoline and diesel prices in late June. The move was aimed at preventing the country's oil producers and refiners from suffering huge losses, too, because of rising global prices. The tax move is a good first step for the country toward an energy efficient and environmentally friendly economy, Zhong Shi, a Beijing-based industrial analyst, said. "It's good to see that the government has started using taxation policies as a tool to achieve its energy efficiency goals." The tax increase, however, is not likely to stop the rich from buying big cars because such people are not very sensitive to price changes, he said. |
三亚市| 台江县| 会泽县| 甘孜| 柳河县| 江源县| 锡林郭勒盟| 姜堰市| 克什克腾旗| 岚皋县| 琼中| 庆阳市| 宁化县| 四子王旗| 双鸭山市| 团风县| 开封县| 南木林县| 自贡市| 双江| 绥芬河市| 温州市| 宁德市| 宜兰市| 元朗区| 桦川县| 长阳| 确山县| 竹北市| 鹰潭市| 武清区| 广丰县| 台北市| 邹城市| 探索| 广德县| 旬阳县| 赣榆县| 革吉县| 含山县| 西宁市|