北京  洪   风/编注

 

 

As of1 April 1, Chinese consumers who buy cars with engine capacities2 of more than four liters are required to pay a consumption tax of 20 percent, according to a joint notice issued by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation3 on March 21. The measure puts a higher tax burden on larger, energy-inefficient4 vehicles and reflects the government’s recent embrace of a “small car policy.”5

       Under the revised6 tax policy, the rate for small cars with a capacity of 1.0 to 1.5 liters decreases to 3 percent, two percentage points lower than before7. Cars of 1.5 to 2.0 liters continue to enjoy a tax rate of 5 percent, and rates for cars of more than two liters range from 9-20 percent.

     To encourage more efficient resource use and the development of a so-called “circular8” economy, the revised consumption tax also covers certain items made of exhaustible resources including wooden disposable chopsticks, wood flooring, and other solid wood products, levying a 5 percent tax on them9.  In 2004 China produced 85 million square meters of solid wood flooring, most of which was made by individual manufacturers10. And the country’s northern provinces produce an estimated 15 billion disposable chopsticks for export to Japan and Korea every year, consuming some 13 million cubic meters11 of timber12.

　　China first levied a tax on consumer goods13 in 1994. The initial ruling14 covered 11 categories15 of goods, including cigarettes, alcohol, cosmetics16, skin- and hair-care products17, jewelry, firecrackers18, gasoline, diesel19, automobile tires, and motorcycles. In total, China’s tax revenue, exclusive of tariffs and agricultural taxes20, reached 3.09 trillion yuan (US $380.6 billion) in 2005, increasing 20 percent from 2004.

　　As Chinese consumption levels have changed with rapid economic development and a rise in personal incomes, the country’s decade-old consumption tax failed to keep pace with21 these changes. Therefore, consumption tax has been collected for luxury goods including yachts, golf balls and clubs and high-end watches22. Other items now taxed at lower rates include cigarettes, alcohol, jet fuel23, automobile tires, and motorcycles. Meanwhile, the tax was scrapped for shampoo, hair conditioners and skin moisturizers to cater for low and medium income earners.24 

                                         综合互联网上的消息改编

 

Notes: 

1. as of从……时起 

2. engine capacity发动机的功率 

3. a joint notice ... Administration of Taxation 由（中国）国家财政部和国家税务总局发布的联合公告 

4. energy-inefficient 能源利用率低的 

5. embrace of a “small car policy” 对小排量车的鼓励政策。embrace拥护，接受 

6. revised修订过的 

7. two percentage points lower than before 比以前下降了两个百分点 

8. circular 循环的 

9. the revised consumption ... percent tax on them 修改后的消费税还包括对某些由不可再生资源制造的商品征收5％的税，包括一次性筷子、木地板及其他实木产品等。disposable用后即丢弃的，可任意处理的；levy 征(税) 

10. individual manufacturer个体制造商

11. cubic meter立方米 

12. timber木材 

13. consumer goods 生活消费品。下段中的luxury goods指奢侈品 

14. initial ruling 最初的规定

15. category种类

16. cosmetics化妆品 

17. skin- and hair-care product护肤及护发产品 

18. firecracker鞭炮 

19. diesel柴油 

20. exclusive of tariffs and agricultural taxes不包括关税和农业税 

21. keep pace with跟上，赶上 

22. yachts，golf balls and clubs and high-end watches游艇、高尔夫球和球杆及高档手表 

23. jet fuel 喷气式飞机所用的喷气燃料

24.本句意为：同时，针对洗发水、护发品及保湿护肤品的税收被取消，以满足中、低收入者的需求。scrap 废弃，废掉