China is drawing up plans to either scrap or reduce export tax rebates on some of the country's energy-intensive and high-polluting industries, a local paper reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources.
The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce are reviewing tax rebates on a list of goods in various sectors, including rubber, non-ferrous metals, steel and construction materials, and have not yet decided on the final tax reduction, said the Economic Information Daily, which is managed by the official Xinhua news agency.
"The overall reduction would not be drastic, but goods in the steel, building materials and additives sector will obviously see larger cuts on rebates compared to other industries," the paper quoted an unidentified source with knowledge of the process.
The related government bodies have also already drafted strategic reviews on export duties for various commodities, including rare earth, iron and steel, petroleum, coal, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, solar polysilicon and other raw materials.
But the government is still working on the finer details of the tax overhaul and has not yet issued a final document, as it needs to consider China's overall export performance this year and seek the views of several other ministries, the paper said.
China, the world's second-largest economy, last scrapped export-tax rebates on some exports in June, which was the first time it removed tax breaks for exports since the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008.
Further measures to scrap or reduce tax breaks for more goods would be part of China's larger efforts to ease trade tensions and reduce domestic overcapacity, as its export sector shows signs of stabilising.
