Taxation reform on resource exploitation should benefit the
public, says a signed article in Beijing News. An excerpt
follows:
An official of the National Development and Reform Commission
said recently that the resource tax on oil exploitation has not yet
been established because the interests of various parties should be
considered and coordinated.
Past experience reveals that the key criteria for judging a
reform is whether the public will benefit. The key to benefiting
the public is to adjust the existing pattern of interest
distribution.
At present, the resource tax is a shared tax. Central finance
takes the majority of the income, leaving only a quarter to local
finances.
This is acceptable because the resources are public assets. But
the problem is that many regions depend on local resources to
develop their economy. In the process of resource exploitation, the
local environment deteriorates and soil and water resources are
seriously degraded.
Since the resource tax only accounts for a small portion of all
tax income, central finance should give a larger portion of the
resource tax income to regional finances.
This is an important issue to guarantee the smooth reform of
resource taxation. A rational distribution would be to perhaps give
regional governments at least a 60 percent share.
Also, the capital brought to local governments by the resource
tax should be utilized to repair the damage done by resource
exploitation to local residents and the environment.
(China Daily April 20, 2007)