China mulls new green tax to spur environmental protection

The introduction of a comprehensive environmental tax policy has been under discussion for years in China. The policy may soon come to light, as China's cabinet recently said that the country will look into the possibility of imposing such a policy. In a guideline issued last week regarding China's environmental protection efforts, the State Council said the country will "actively promote reforms in environment-related taxes" and "conduct research regarding the collection of an environmental tax." The move suggests that the debut of a "green tax" is now officially on the government's agenda and that reforms will make substantial progress during the country's 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), analysts said.