China will implement a new fuel tax system next year that will raise prices at the pump, while allowing the government to adjust subsidies to state-run refiners, state press reported Friday.
The long awaited fuel tax system will raise gas taxes to 1.0 yuan (14 cents) a litre (0.26 gallons) from 0.2 yuan per litre, while an annual road maintenance fee will be scrapped, Xinhua news agency said.
The new system is set to go into place on January 1, but citizens will be allowed to voice their opinions on the new tax over the next week, it said.
The government will also maintain current fuel prices for an unspecified time as the new tax system is implemented and despite the recent tumble in global fuel prices, it said.
The reform on fuel taxation and oil pricing "is aimed at facilitating energy saving and emission cuts as well as the economic structural adjustment," the report quoted a government statement as saying.
The move will allow domestic fuel prices to move in line with the global market, ending years of troublesome price setting by the government that has brought losses to listed state refiners such as PetroChina and Sinopec.
To help the refiners, the government has had to issue generous subsidies to keep them operating and delivering fuel to consumers.
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