Collecting environmental protection tax is not only conducive to achieving the emission reduction target of key pollutants, but also can promote the optimization of economic structure and the transformation of development mode, and enrich the government’s means for environmental governance and protection.
□ Legal Daily reporter Cai Yanhong
Recently, the reporter learned from State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China that since the implementation of the Environmental Protection Tax Law on January 1, 2018, the introduction of environmental protection tax has effectively played the role of the reverse constraint and positive incentive mechanism of enterprises’ "multiple rows and multiple payments, less rows and less payments, no rows and no payments" and promoted green development. At present, China has established an ecological tax system with environmental protection tax as the main body, resource tax and farmland occupation tax as the focus, supplemented by travel tax, vehicle purchase tax, value-added tax, consumption tax and enterprise income tax, covering eight taxes in five major links of resource exploitation, production, circulation, consumption and emission.
Two-way adjustment promotes enterprise transformation and upgrading
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly stated that we must establish and practice the concept of "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", adhere to the basic national policy of resource conservation and environmental protection, promote green development and build a beautiful China. The national tax system conscientiously implements the thought of the Supreme Leader General Secretary on ecological civilization, gives full play to the function of taxation, builds an ecological tax system, and helps win the battle against pollution.
The relevant person in charge of the Property and Behavior Tax Department of State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China said that since the introduction of environmental protection tax, tax authorities at all levels have continuously increased cooperation with departments of ecological environment, finance and industrial information, and established a collection and management mechanism of "tax collection and management, enterprise declaration, environmental protection monitoring, information sharing and cooperation". At the same time, tax authorities at all levels have established tax payment services and problem collection and handling mechanisms, strengthened policy guidance for taxpayers, established a problem collection and feedback mechanism from the bottom up, and timely optimized the third-phase golden tax collection and management system, which has improved the convenience for taxpayers to enjoy preferential treatment.
The introduction of environmental protection tax forces enterprises to carry out energy-saving and pollution-reducing technological transformation and take the road of ecological priority and green development. Hubei Dean Fu Sugar Co., Ltd. is an enterprise engaged in the manufacture of food and feed additives, and its emissions are mainly sewage. Zhou Mingzhao, the person in charge of this company, said frankly that the more sewage is discharged, the more environmental protection tax will be paid. In August this year, the company plans to invest a large amount of special funds for the upgrading of production technology and the transformation of sewage discharge.
As a green tax, the positive incentive effect of environmental tax is also very obvious. After the management of Huangshan Shenjian New Materials Co., Ltd. carefully studied the relevant provisions of environmental protection tax, it immediately carried out technical transformation on the production equipment. Sun Youqiong, the financial controller of this company, said that in the first half of 2019, the environmental protection tax paid by the company was less than 4 million yuan compared with the second half of last year, but the production capacity increased by 50% year-on-year.
Under the positive guidance and reverse reversal of environmental protection tax, enterprises have taken advantage of the trend, from passive emission reduction to active environmental protection, not only enjoying more dividends from tax reform, but also promoting transformation and upgrading. Huzhou Xiexin Environmental Thermal Power Co., Ltd. in Zhejiang Province is one of the typical examples. As a thermal power plant, this company has successively invested nearly 2 million yuan to implement environmental protection relocation and technical transformation. "Increased investment in environmental protection is not only reflected in the reduction of tax burden, but also in stronger core competitiveness. This year, the company’s sales revenue is expected to increase by nearly 8% year-on-year." Wu Lijun, the company’s financial director, said with deep understanding.
Finance and taxation experts believe that the collection of environmental taxes is not only conducive to achieving the emission reduction targets of key pollutants, but also can promote the optimization of economic structure and the transformation of development mode, and enrich the government’s means for environmental governance and protection.
Reducing taxes and fees to help green development
In order to further promote high-quality economic development, the state has successively introduced a series of preferential tax policies. Nowadays, China has established an ecological tax system with environmental protection tax as the main body, resource tax and farmland occupation tax as the focus, supplemented by travel tax, vehicle purchase tax, value-added tax, consumption tax and enterprise income tax, covering eight taxes in five major links of resource exploitation, production, circulation, consumption and emission.
On the basis of promoting the development of the real economy and stimulating the vitality of the market, local tax authorities have implemented tax reduction and fee reduction policies to help enterprises adjust and optimize their industrial structure and take a "new path" of green development.
In Inner Mongolia Guangna Coal Industry Group, located in Etuoke Economic Development Zone, Ordos City, the scene of "wolf smoke everywhere" is no longer seen. The mined coal is piled up in a coal shed, and spray water trucks shuttle back and forth in the factory area to eliminate the coal dust raised during operation. "The Group has formulated a five-year plan for green development, focusing on controlling the dust problem caused by open-pit mining. We have invested a total of 1. 200 million yuan. " Xiao Fei, general manager of Guangna Group, said.
According to Wang Quancai, chairman of Guangna Group, the company has invested a lot of money in building a "green mine", and the tax reduction and fee reduction policy has eased the financial pressure for enterprises and enhanced the confidence of enterprises to invest. This year, the value-added tax rate will be reduced from 16% to 13%, which will reduce the tax for enterprises by about 38 million yuan.
In April this year, the State Administration of Taxation, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, jointly issued the Announcement on Income Tax Policies for Third-Party Enterprises Engaged in Pollution Prevention and Control, collecting enterprise income tax at a reduced rate of 15% for qualified third-party enterprises engaged in pollution prevention and control, encouraging relevant enterprises to increase investment and enhance the effectiveness of pollution prevention and control.
Traditional high-energy enterprises have also ushered in a green transformation in this tax reduction and fee reduction.
It is understood that Nanjing Turbine Motor (Group) Co., Ltd. is gradually transforming from coal-fired power and thermal power fields to clean and efficient energy fields such as natural gas. "In the critical period of enterprise transformation, the various tax reduction and fee reduction measures introduced by the state have undoubtedly given us great support and encouragement!" Shen Qun, the person in charge of the company, pointed out that the reduction of the value-added tax rate and the new policy of "six taxes and two fees" this year have given real tax benefits to enterprises, enabling them to increase investment in research and development of core components and environmental protection equipment. At present, the proportion of coal consumed in the production of steam turbines is decreasing.
Also benefiting is the field of public transportation. The "People’s Republic of China (PRC) Vehicle Purchase Tax Law", which was formally implemented on July 1st this year, has written into the law the policy of exempting bus and tram vehicles purchased by urban public transport enterprises from vehicle purchase tax, which fully reflects the state’s great attention to the development of public transport and people’s livelihood.
"The development of public transport is related to major strategies such as national environmental protection and air pollution control. After the implementation of the vehicle purchase tax law, we not only enjoy the relevant tax exemption policies, but also enjoy a number of policy support in the consumption tax, vehicle and vessel tax and financial subsidies for the purchase of new energy vehicles. Only 300 electric buses in place this year can reduce taxes by more than 30 million yuan, and the company’s confidence in development has doubled. " Zhao Rongjun, head of the pure electric bus of Korla Public Transport Co., Ltd. in Xinjiang, said with emotion.
Ensure that the tax service has no dead ends.
In recent years, local tax authorities have actively promoted the establishment and improvement of a cooperative mechanism for environmental tax collection and management, set up a declaration counseling team, set up a special window for environmental tax declaration and a special post for consulting services, and adopted various forms such as centralized training, on-site counseling, and simulated declaration to ensure that tax payment services have no dead ends.
In this regard, Huang Yali, the financial director of Xiamen Special Housing Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd., was deeply touched. In view of the fact that there are many projects under construction in the company, and the financial personnel know little about how to declare the environmental protection tax on construction dust, Xiamen Municipal Taxation Bureau sent a special person to guide the tax calculation and online declaration. "This ‘ Point-to-point ’ The service makes us feel very warm, and it also gives us more energy to invest in environmental protection and reduce the concentration of building dust emissions. " Huang Yali said.
How to make things faster and service experience better? Hubei Provincial Taxation Bureau went deep into the enterprise to understand the situation, established a data analysis model according to the list of questions, and carried out "one-on-one" accurate counseling to ensure that every environmental tax taxpayer knew the policy, could calculate and declare, which effectively improved the tax compliance.
"The tax bureau hands-on teaching and practical help, guiding enterprises to calculate both economic accounts and environmental accounts, helping everyone master the environmental tax policy and enabling enterprises to enjoy the reform dividend." Wang Xianqi, deputy commander of the construction headquarters of Macheng Stone Economic Circular Industrial Park in Hubei Province, said that with the advice and suggestions of the tax authorities, this park has introduced a production line with an annual capacity of 1 million tons of tailings, and then started to introduce a production line with a capacity of 2 million tons, so that the tailings treatment problem of enterprises in the park will be solved.
Tight funds and insufficient R&D efforts are difficult problems faced by many small and medium-sized enterprises in green transformation and development. Anhui Shanfu New Materials Science and Technology Co., Ltd. is very short of funds after the overall relocation of the enterprise. When the tax department was informed, combined with its tax credit record, it helped the enterprise to apply for a "tax financing" loan of 10 million yuan in less than a week.
"In recent years, in the process of enterprise transformation and development, the precise guidance of the tax department has solved our urgent needs!" Bao Xiuqun, chairman of Shanfu New Materials, said that the taxation department of Huangshan City intervened in advance, provided services on demand, encouraged enterprises to introduce special equipment for energy conservation and emission reduction, and helped more market players to start early and run fast in the green "competition" of transformation and upgrading.