China's 'stir fry' of environmentally related taxes and charges: Too many cooks at work

Abstract

China does not have environmental taxes in a strict sense, but certain environmentally related taxes and a nationwide pollution charge system have been in place for some years. There are also other types of environmentally related charges that are collected by different government departments. The problem is that environmentally related charges are governed by multiple governmental agencies and environmentally related taxes are subject to government discretions at different levels. The article argues that the lack of coordination and cooperation among government sectors and the lack of a 'super power' to guarantee the consistency and compliance of tax laws and regulations across agencies and levels of government have aggravated the negative effects of the environmentally related tax and charge system in China. Further improvement in the regulatory framework of the system is much needed for purposes of enhancing the positive environmental effects of the system and facilitating future environmental tax reform in China. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.