China promulgates the Resource Tax Law

        On August 26, the 12th Session of the 13th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Resource Tax Law by vote. The new law will come into force on September 1, 2020.

   The resource tax law will clearly levy a water resource tax on a pilot basis. In this regard, Xu Guoqiao said that since the implementation of the water resources tax reform pilot in Hebei Province in 2016, the pilot project has been generally stable and orderly, the collection and management is relatively smooth, and the role of tax regulation has gradually emerged.

   "Water resources tax is mainly levied to strengthen taxpayers'awareness of water saving, restrain groundwater overexploitation, force high water-consuming enterprises to save water and improve water use efficiency. For individuals, the burden has not increased. Xu Guoqiao said that in view of the pilot stage of water resources tax reform, the taxation system needs to be explored and improved through pilot projects. In order to ensure that the pilot work of water resources tax reform is justified by law, the Resource Tax Law authorizes the State Council to carry out the pilot reform of water resources tax.

   He said that in the next step, the financial department and the relevant departments will fully consider the water resources situation, the types of water use and the differences in social development level in different regions, improve the water resources tax system, and report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in accordance with the provisions of the tax law, and put forward suggestions for revision.