That's crazy. That's like taxing SUV's, which are a lifestyle choice and very important to my self-image. Where would I put my golf clubs? How would I pull my boat?
I think I can confidently say the Chinese are making a huge mistake here. The US has proven than it's FEWER taxes that produce a strong economy. Can I borrow a thousand dollars? I need to buy ammo for my gun. -Merika Keith Addison wrote: >http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/business/worldbusiness/23yuan.html?_ >r=1&oref=slogin >- New York Times >China Raises Taxes to Curb Use of Energy and Timber > >By KEITH BRADSHER > >Published: March 23, 2006 > >HONG KONG, Thursday, March 23 - The Chinese government announced >plans on Wednesday to increase existing taxes and impose new ones on >April 1 for everything from gas-guzzling vehicles to chopsticks in a >move to rein in rising use of energy and timber and the widening gap >between rich and poor. > >Greg Baker/Associated Press > >China will assess a 5 percent tax on disposable wooden chopsticks in >one of many conservation efforts. > >New or higher taxes will fall on vehicles with engines larger than >two liters, disposable wooden chopsticks, planks for wood floors, >luxury watches, golf clubs, golf balls and certain oil products. > >China's finance ministry disclosed the higher taxes Tuesday night in >a statement that was reported Wednesday morning by the official New >China News Agency. The statement offered another sign that some >senior Chinese officials may be having second thoughts about the >rapid growth of privately owned family vehicles, whose sales rose to >3.1 million last year from just 640,000 in 2000. > >"In recent years, car ownership in China has grown rapidly and fuel >consumption has risen considerably, and this highlights the conflict >between supply and demand of oil resources," the statement said. "At >the same time, pollution caused by motor cars has become the main >source of pollution in big and medium-size cities." > >The finance ministry is imposing a 5 percent tax on chopsticks and >floor planks, citing a need to conserve timber. Environmentalists >around the world have been warning that China's voracious demand for >wood was contributing to the clear-cutting of many forests, >especially in Southeast Asia. > >The production of disposable wooden chopsticks consumes two million >cubic meters (70.6 million cubic feet) of timber each year, the >ministry said. Plastic chopsticks, which can be washed and reused, >will not be subject to the new tax. > >A new tax of 10 percent on yachts, golf clubs and golf balls, and a >20 percent tax on luxury watches, is squarely aimed at China's >emerging elite of wealthy industrialists and well-connected Communist >officials. > >China's yacht market is still in its infancy, as military >restrictions on ocean traffic and commercial restrictions on river >traffic have limited yachts to lakes - although a few entrepreneurs >have been able to get around the rules to cruise on the Yangtze River >near Shanghai. > >Chinese officials have periodically assailed golf, especially when >villages and farms are demolished with little compensation to make >way for new golf courses. > >The biggest commercial effect of the new taxes is likely to fall on >sport utility vehicles and luxury sedans. China is reducing its tax >on vehicles with engines of 1 to 1.5 liters to 3 percent from 5 >percent, while leaving the rate unchanged for slightly more powerful >engines. The tax rate will rise to 20 percent, from 8 percent now, >for vehicles with engines larger than four liters. > >The taxes are likely to affect foreign automakers, especially >American manufacturers, more than Chinese companies, which tend to >make models with smaller engines. > >The big question for automakers is how much of the tax to pass on to >consumers, since the tax is collected from the manufacturers. With a >week and a half remaining until the new tax takes effect, marketing >executives scrambled on Wednesday to assess the impact and no >automaker immediately raised prices. > >"We are doing the calculations and assessing the impact, and on the >other hand watching the actions of our competitors," said Kenneth >Hsu, a spokesman for the China operations of Ford Motor, which sell >everything from compact cars with 1.6-liter engines to Lincoln >Navigator full-size S.U.V.'s with 5.4-liter engines. > >Trevor Hale, a DaimlerChrysler spokesman, said the company offered >fuel-efficient engines; many Mercedes sedans sold in China have >considerably smaller engines than models sold in the United States. > >Chinese officials considered and rejected a tax system based on gas >mileage instead of engine displacement. That approach would have >benefited foreign automakers who possess better technology that >permits them to squeeze more power out of the same size engine than >purely Chinese manufacturers can. > >General Motors China welcomed the new taxes on Thursday but voiced a >reservation: "While we believe the new measure will be more >environmentally friendly and help lower energy consumption in China, >we think it would be more reasonable to base the tax rate on the >actual fuel consumption of a vehicle instead of the size of its >engine displacement, which is a widely accepted practice worldwide." > >Yale Zhang, an analyst in the Shanghai office of CSM Worldwide, a big >automotive consulting firm based in the Detroit suburbs, said that >Chinese automakers had growing influence in policy debates and that >the new rules might lead to a proliferation of vehicles with engines >a hundredth of a liter below the thresholds for higher taxes. > >Chinese regulators have already imposed stringent fuel-economy >regulations that take effect for all vehicles sold after July 1, and >have said that they are considering a separate gas-guzzler tax for >models that do not comply. The finance ministry's statement on the >tax increases on April 1 made no mention of such a gas-guzzler tax, >however, and finance ministry officials could not be reached for >elaboration. > >The finance ministry also announced a modest new tax of a penny (0.1 >yuan) a liter for aviation fuel and 2 cents (0.2 yuan) a liter for >naptha, solvents and lubricants, but said it would not collect the >new aviation fuel tax for now and would collect only 30 percent of >the new tax on naptha, solvents and lubricants. > >Applying taxes on oil products but not collecting them while prices >are high could set a precedent for how China handles taxes on >gasoline and diesel. Chinese officials have said repeatedly that they >would like to raise fuel taxes to encourage conservation, but do not >want to act while world oil prices are close to record levels. > >On April 1, China will also lower its tax on motorcycles with engines >under 250 cubic centimeters to 3 percent from 10 percent, while >leaving the tax unchanged at 10 percent for motorcycles with larger >engines. > >Western manufacturers like Harley-Davidson are trying to break into >the Chinese market with powerful bikes, while Chinese manufacturers >like Lifan mainly produce less powerful models. > > >_______________________________________________ >Biofuel mailing list >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
