Finance ministry denies crude oil tax report
20 December 2007
The Ministry of Finance denied that an announcement had appeared on its official website detailing the rate and time frame of a tax on crude oil, Xinhua Net reported (in Chinese). The Financial Times reported Wednesday that a vice minister of finance had announced on the ministry's website that a 10% tax on crude oil would be phased in "as soon as possible." A ministry spokesperson said that there was no official timetable for such a tax. However, industry watchers commented that it is reasonable to expect a tax on crude oil in the future, as reforms to the natural resource taxation system have been discussed by authorities for some time.