The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference holds a news conference on March 2, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua] The country's top political advisory body will actively support the implementation of the development goals of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a spokesman said on Saturday. Guo Weimin, spokesman for the second session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the CPPCC National Committee attaches great importance to the Greater Bay Area development, and is proactively facilitating its implementation. The CPPCC National Committee will hold thematic group discussions focusing on the Greater Bay Area during its annual plenary session, which will open on Sunday, Guo told reporters at the first press conference ahead of the annual two sessions in Beijing. The two sessions, or lianghui, are the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the CPPCC National Committee. The central government unveiled the long-anticipated outline development plan for the Greater Bay Area on Feb 18. The development blueprint lays out the vision for coordinated development of the 11-city cluster, comprised of the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and nine cities in Guangdong province. The plan aims at developing the region into an international first-class bay area, to rival the world's top city clusters in San Francisco, New York and Tokyo. The plan is an important outline document guiding the current and future cooperation and development of the Greater Bay Area, and maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao, Guo noted. The CPPCC National Committee will make ongoing efforts to do what it can to help implement the development goals of the Greater Bay Area. Throughout the year, the committee will continue to offer suggestions and gather views from the public by holding biweekly consultative meetings and online conferences of committee members, and organizing forums and studies, Guo said. Discussions will center on how to facilitate the Greater Bay Area's bid to become an international innovation and technology hub. Committee members also will exchange ideas about how to promote youth exchange across the region, and about innovation in institutions and mechanisms to advance the Greater Bay Area's development, Guo said. The 2,000-plus members of the CPPCC National Committee will use these various activities to help garner support and build consensus in pushing forward the region's integrated development. The CPPCC National Committee has consistently provided support to the development of the Greater Bay Area. While the region's development plan was in the formulation process, members of the CPPCC National Committee presented many relevant proposals last year, and 158 proposals have been accepted, Guo added. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland. Guo said the central government, the Macao SAR government and different organizations in the city are all preparing various celebratory activities to commemorate the joyous occasion. Macao has made remarkable strides in the past 20 years, with firm support from the central government. Under the one country, two systems principle, the SAR has adhered to people of Macao governing Macao with a high degree of autonomy, and has become a prosperous place that offers its residents stability and quality living standards, Guo said. He added that Macao will continue to play important roles as a global tourism and leisure center, and as an economic and trade cooperation platform between China and Lusophone (people culturally and linguistically linked to Portugal) countries. With its extensive international connections, Macao is also an important link in the Belt and Road Initiative. custom bar braceletcustom sports braceletscustom logo wristbandsde securite pour personne ageeembossed wristbandscolorfilled wristbandsembossed printed wristbandsdual layer wristbands
Deng Baisong, the general manager of Xiangyang Longmang Titanium Industry Co Ltd, shows an environmental protection tax receipt at the company in Xiangyang, Hubei province, April 2, 2018. [Photo/VCG] BEIJING -- Over the weekend, China's local tax bureaus were crowded with taxpayers, as China's first environmental tax declaration period started on April 1. Under the Environmental Protection Tax Law in effect since Jan 1, companies and public institutions that discharge listed pollutants directly into the environment are subject to taxes for producing noise, air, and water pollution, as well as solid waste. It only took a few minutes to register, transfer, and receive a tax invoice, said Ke Yuanmei, CFO of Kading Children Products Co. Ltd., which got the first environmental tax receipt in East China's Fujian province. He said the tax gives companies an incentive to cut emissions and upgrade production technology, as the mechanism charges them based on the amount of pollutants discharged. Zhang Jinshan, an official with the Fujian Tax Bureau, said the bureau extended working hours over the weekend and set up an information desk to provide guidance and services to make tax declaration more convenient. Taxpayers can also declare the tax online. We will further optimize our manufacturing techniques to reduce pollution, said a financial representative from BASF Application Chemical Co. Ltd., which was the first company to complete the tax payment in Shanghai. The company received a tax reduction of 600 yuan ($95) as its pollution discharge was lower than China's national standard for the sector. It paid 8,800 yuan in tax for the first quarter. Nationwide, over 260,000 entities have started to pay the environmental tax, which is applicable only to companies, public institutions, and other business operators. This is China's first tax clearly designed for environmental protection, which aims to help establish a green financial and taxation system and promote pollution control and treatment. The introduction of the tax called an end to the pollutant discharge fee, which China had been collecting for nearly 40 years. Xiao Jiongdong, financial manager of Quanzhou Nanxin Bleaching and Dyeing Company, said though detailed items of the tax are almost the same as those in the fee era, it makes it easier for taxpayers to complete their duties. Companies can pay the environmental tax along with their corporate tax declaration. In the past, we did not know how much we should pay in advance, but now we know the exact tax payment before declaration, said Xiao. He said the tax also has a more authoritative effect than administrative fees. According to the Fujian environmental department, there were often defaults in paying pollutant discharge fees. The bureau lacked the manpower to impose effective supervision to carry out mandatory fee collection. Xiao said last year, the company phased out the energy-consuming and pollution-extensive skein dyeing workshop and expanded the cone dyeing output. We paid a 17,000 yuan pollution discharge fee in the first quarter of 2017, while the environmental protection tax we paid for the first quarter of this year was 12,000 yuan, said Xiao. The tax saved is only part of a big picture. According to Xiao, the technological upgrading also helped cut the cost of the company's natural gas consumption from 800,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan per month, and their water cost was reduced by half. The environmental protection tax is not a mere source of government revenue, said Fan Yong, professor at Central University of Finance and Economics, it is more of an important step to build a green China.
