According to Xinhua, China intends to introduce a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. The local taxation authority rather than the environmental protection department will collect the taxes. The government is also looking into taxing energy-intensive products such as batteries, as well as luxury goods such as aircraft that are not used for public transportation. The government is also planning a tax reforms to tax coal based on prices instead of sales volume, as well as raising coal taxes. A resource tax will also be levied on water.
Australia's carbon tax came into effect July 1, 2012. Much of Australia's coal production is exported to China. If China introduces a carbon tax, it will mean that emissions from virtually all of Australian coal will be taxed. It will be interesting to see how China's tax rate will compare to Australia's.
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