Probing Into Perfecting Our Green Taxation System

With the rapid development of economy, the environmental pollution has increased into unprecedented level. Human beings are facing increasing and accumulative environmental pollution, which has become a great threat to human beings' survival and development. Under this kind of background, Countries all over the world keep on probing all kinds of environmental policies and measures to realize the sustainable development. In doing so, the use of economic means has made great progress since 1970s. And what is most notable is that taxation has become an important part of environmental policies. The main objective of this dissertation is to discuss: under the present conditions, how shall we do to strengthen the impact of taxation in protecting the surroundings. That is how to perfect our green taxation system.The dissertation is divided into seven parts:(l)The urgency of environmental protection in china. Our country has reformed and carried out the policy of opening to the world for more than twenty years, the speed and the scope of the development are at all time high, but the extensive mode of production and neglecting of environmental protection made us pay costly ecological cost, the expansion of ecological deficit threaten the survival and development of Chinese nation.(2)The economic origin of environmental problems. The environmental and natural resources have typical feature of public goods, people consume them with non-competition and non-exclusiveness, everyone wants to become free rider, fight for limited natural resources without control, seek for the maximal personal benefit, which lead to lower welfare at last. In addition, environmental pollution has typical negative externalities, the smoothly transferring on externalities cost make the taxpayer lose the system of self-control and bring out the pollution of environment and the waste of resources.(3)Comparing all kinds of means that government can use to solve environmental problems. The market mechanism failure in ecological field demands the intervention of government. Green tax has comparative advantages over other various policy means, it can increase revenue, control pollution and can embody the principle of fairness and effectiveness.(4)The basic content of green tax. Green tax refers to a series of taxes and measures taken by government in order to realize certain ecology and resources protection goals, to gather fund for ecological protection, and to reinforce the consciousness of taxpayers. Nowadays, the green tax is set up all-round rather than levy tax on pollution in developed countries. That is to take environmental protection into account whendesigning the whole taxation system.(5)To introduce some cases in other countries with regards to green tax. Emphasizing on introducing green tax in OECD, the U.S.A., Holland and Sweden, then analyze its successful experiences and what we can use.(6) Investigation on the present taxation system. There are many ecological items in the present tax system, but it still has a lot of problems: the designing of most of the taxes does not take environmental protection and sustainable development into consideration; The main tax that levies from ecological protection angle is absent; All kind of related taxes have many malpractice, the tax bases is more narrow, the tax rate is more lower and the strength of regulation is more weak. To sum up, the extent of green tax is not enough in the present tax system and can' t meet the needs of sustainable development. Moreover, the system of fees levies on pollution also has some malpractice.(7)We should adapt to world trend, use the successful experience and reform boldly and resolutely: Firstly, adjust tax items and tax rate, improve related regulations about environmental protection; secondly, reform the system of fees levy on pollution; thirdly, introduce new taxes that accord with the national conditions, then carry out in good time. Through above-mentioned reformation, standard green taxation system should be set up gradually, so that we can make full use of the regulation function in the process of sustainable development of Chinese economy.The basic thinking of this dissertation is: From theoretic analysis (including the urgency of environmental protection, the need for the governments to interfere, and the advantages of tax means comparing with other means) to practice review (including the present condition and problems of green taxation in China, and experience of other countries' green taxation) and stop over the link of theory and practice (probing into the measures of perfecting our green taxation system).