改革“绿色税制”，为环保责任补足漏洞

Core Viewpoint - The National People's Congress has approved amendments to the Environmental Protection Tax Law, allowing for a pilot tax on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to be implemented, which aims to enhance environmental protection and reduce pollution emissions [1][2]. Group 1: Environmental Tax Implementation - The new tax on VOCs is expected to increase production costs for related enterprises, which is intended to make polluting companies bear the environmental "externality" costs [2]. - The revenue from the environmental tax will be allocated to local governments, which is particularly significant given the financial constraints faced by local authorities in recent years [2]. - The projected environmental tax revenue for 2024 is 24.6 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 19.7%, while the revenue for the first three quarters of 2025 is 20.8 billion yuan, up 13.8% year-on-year [2]. Group 2: Local Government Responsibilities - The implementation of the environmental tax and its expansion will further enforce local governments' responsibilities for environmental protection, compelling them to balance tax revenue generation with environmental accountability [3]. - Local governments have historically struggled with pollution control due to conflicting priorities between GDP growth and environmental responsibilities, leading to ineffective measures [2][3]. - The tax system allows provincial governments to propose adjustments to tax rates for air and water pollutants, providing them with some autonomy in managing environmental taxes [3]. Group 3: Monitoring and Compliance - The new provisions require improvements in monitoring technology and emission calculation methods for VOCs, which will support accurate tax assessments [3][4]. - The pilot implementation of the expanded tax will necessitate collaboration among local environmental, tax, and financial departments to ensure data sharing and effective enforcement [3][4]. - The introduction of this tax regime is expected to address long-standing regulatory gaps in environmental oversight in China [4].