SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--China will raise the mineral resources tax for miners imposed on copper, lead and zinc, as well as tungsten ores effective Aug. 1, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation.
The tax on copper ores will be adjusted to CNY5-CNY7 a metric ton, depending on their levels of quality, according to a notice posted on ctax.org.cn, a tax regulation Web site authorized by the State Administration of Taxation.
The tax on lead and zinc ores will be raised to CNY10-CNY20/ton, and that on tungsten ores to CNY7-CNY9/ton, said the notice, dated July 5.
The tax on copper ores was set at CNY1.2-CNY1.6/ton, when China began levying mineral resources taxes in 1993.
The tax on zinc and lead ores is currently at CNY2-CNY4/ton and on tungsten at CNY0.5-CNY0.6/ton.
The rise in tax rates is in line with the government's efforts to maximize the use of limited domestic mineral reserves.
"The government has always hoped miners will use domestic resources efficiently, and this, by raising the miners' production costs, will hopefully urge them to be more efficient," said Li Yusheng, an analyst with state-owned metals research firm Antaike Information Development Co.
"This may affect the miners' profitability, but there should be little impact on production, as their margins are still decent," Li said.
-Helen Sun contributed to this article; Dow Jones Newswires; (86-21) 6120-1200; [email protected]
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