BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday gave
further explanation on the proposed reform of fuel tax and pricing in a bid to
dispel misunderstanding that a higher consumption tax will mean higher pump
prices.
The authorities on Friday released a draft reform
plan to solicit public opinions till Dec. 12. It had been long advocated by
experts as key for energy saving and economic structure transform.
The plan, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, will
abolish six fees now charged for road or waterway maintenance and management.
But drivers will pay higher fuel consumption taxes.
Gasoline taxes will be raised from 0.2 yuan (about 3 U.S. cents) per liter to 1
yuan and diesel taxes from 0.1 yuan per liter to 0.8 yuan.
The government reiterated its Friday's statement that
the pump prices, which include the higher tax, won't be raised and the reform
won't increase costs for fuel consumers.
The tax is reflected in the pump prices and isn't an
additional increase to the retail prices, said a joint statement by the National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of
Transport and State Administration of Taxation.
The proposed tax is lower than the level in the
European Union and also in the neighboring countries and regions, it said.
The draft said China's domestic crude oil prices
should be set directly in line with world prices, but the link should be
controlled and indirect for refined petroleum prices.
There will be a ceiling on pump prices as part of the
plan. The government said it will continue to properly regulate domestic pump
prices to prevent the negative impacts of huge fluctuations in the international
oil prices on the domestic market.
The reform helps to promote a healthy development of
the oil sector and energy saving, and to ensure domestic fuel supply and a
stable economic growth, said the statement.
But it said the government will increase subsidies to
farmers, taxi drivers, and sectors of fishing, forestry, and public transport.
The reform will be a significant step towards
liberalizing retail fuel prices, said researcher Zhou Dadi from the Energy
Research Institute of the NDRC.
China has been pushing for fuel tax reform for many
years, and the idea of a fuel tax was raised as early as 1994. Both officials
and economists said the plunge in global oil price presents a window of
opportunity for this reform.
The world crude oil price has plunged almost 70
percent from a peak of 147 U.S. dollars per barrel in mid-July.
Even with oil prices tumbling so much, Chinese
drivers are paying much more than those in many other countries because domestic
fuel prices have been unchanged since June. Government-set prices are changed
only infrequently.
The pump prices are higher than the levels in the
United States, but lower than that in some European and Asian nations, said the
statement. But it noted this is because of oil resource shortages in the
European and Asian countries and their intention to use higher prices to
encourage energy saving.
China to kick-start fuel tax reform on
Jan 1
BEIJING, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese drivers will no longer
have to pay road maintenance fees as the New Year begins but have to pay a hiked
gasoline tax. But when they drive to gas station, they will find they don't have
to dig deeper into their pockets.
That's what the government promised in a draft scheme on
fuel taxation and reform of the country's refined oil pricing mechanism,
released on Friday evening to solicit public opinion.
Chinese gov't mulls to impose fuel
tax
BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China has been studying a
fuel tax reform to replace the current road tolls imposed upon vehicles, the
National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic
planner, announced here on Thursday.
The announcement came after media reports said on
Wednesday that the government was likely to impose the fuel tax as early as next
month.
