Vice Minister of Finance responds to rising oil taxes

On March 9, Zhu Guangyao, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and deputy finance minister, said: "I think we should make our investment in environmental protection more transparent, and we must increase it gradually in the annual budget so as to reflect public finances. In order to reflect the interests of the people in the country, especially all taxpayers."

Referring to the fiscal transparency involved in "special funds", Zhu Guangyao thinks that improvements need to be made: "We need to do more, improve, and even better, so as not to fail the expectations of the people." He pointed out that "the total In terms of financial arrangements, the two lines of revenue and expenditure are clear. This is also the transparency of fiscal funds and is a very important step."

Since November 28, 2014, the country has raised the refined oil consumption tax three times. The consumption tax for gasoline has increased from 1 yuan/liter to 1.52 yuan/liter, and the diesel consumption tax has increased from 0.8 yuan/liter to 1.2 yuan/liter. According to the official explanation, the main role of refined oil consumption tax is pollution control.

In this regard, there are proposals from members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference that should be dedicated to special funds.

According to the "Daily Economic News" report, the above proposal puts forward that the state levies and increases the refined oil consumption tax. Its purpose is to improve the quality of the environment and to control air pollution. It is necessary to strengthen the "special funds" and establish a system for returning consumption of refined oil consumption tax.

For the promotion of refined oil consumption tax, Zhu Guangyao explained the reasons for the three aspects, and the key word is “environmental protection”.

First, he pointed out that the suppression of excessive consumption of fossil energy is the starting point.

“We have an objective analysis of our situation. In 2014, China increased the consumption tax under the condition of a sharp drop in global oil prices, and it was three times. We must see the starting point: In general, it is to suppress excessive consumption of fossil fuels. I think everyone has a different voice, but on this issue, the voice of the people of the country is the same - that is, we must attach importance to environmental protection and we must curb the excessive consumption of fossil energy. This is both our long-term strategic goal and our current Just do it."

In addition, he believes that in response to the changes in the international oil market, all countries in the world have expressed their support for China's response measures.

"The second point is that from the international reaction, I attended the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors (found at the time). All countries believe that the Chinese government's response to changes in the international oil market is timely and decisive."

Finally, he pointed out that the transparency of information is critical for domestic consumers' different opinions.

“The third point is that domestic consumers have different opinions. I personally feel that we need to communicate more in this area. The transparency of mutual information is crucial because our consumers are very rational. At all the meetings today, everyone is unanimous. We believe that we must strengthen environmental protection and agree that environmental issues are the people’s livelihood issue and that this is the voice of the people. In this regard, we really need to do more work. From the perspective of government work, as the Minister of Finance, I first consider We must unswervingly implement the strategy of the Central Government. What the Central Government's strategy is, is four comprehensive and more vivid representations. In the words of the Communist Party, it is people's yearning for a better life that is the goal of our struggle. It includes environmental issues."

He particularly stressed the need to improve the transparency of the budget.

“We must constantly improve our work style, especially in accordance with the promotion of fiscal and tax reform programs. The first of these is the transparency of the budget, so that taxpayers know where our money is spent; what is the taxpayer's contribution?”

So, will the consumption tax of refined oil soar in the future? Zhu Guangyao did not make a direct response.

He said: "We must follow the overall arrangements. Today's discussion is about the reform of the legislative law. From now on, the goal must be very clear: By 2020, we must complete the legal process of taxation. In this way, with the annual In the past, we will be more open and transparent in this respect, and let taxpayers have a clearer understanding. Whether it will rise or fall, everyone will know more clearly.