CHINA had extended its resource tax on domestic sales of crude oil and natural gas to 12 western regions and provinces, a government official said Friday.
China started levying a 5 percent resource tax on crude and natural gas sales in the northwestern Xinjiang region from June 1 before spreading to other resources-rich provinces.
It was last introduced in the northern Inner Mongolia region from Dec. 1, the official said, without naming the specific regions.
The tax, which is based on prices instead of the previous quantity-based mechanism, is expected to boost local government revenues but will cut into earnings of oil and gas firms such as PetroChina.and Sinopec Corp. The old resource tax, introduced since 1994, was very low. The crude and natural gas prices have soared since then, so we adjusted it to be based on sales, said the official.(SD-Agencies)
