NPC panel adopts tax, soil laws

THE Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted laws on e-commerce, soil pollution prevention, and individual income tax as it closed its bimonthly session on Friday.

President Xi Jinping signed presidential decrees for the laws.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the standing committee, said that the legislation on soil pollution prevention and control is a major task decided by the Communist Party of China Central Committee, calling for efforts to protect the environment with the legal force and win the fight against pollution.

Li said members of the standing committee fully recognized the work on drafting individual books of the civil code, stressing continued in-depth deliberation.

Li asked the State Council to formulate coordinated regulations to ensure that individual income tax plays a decisive role in adjusting income distribution and boosting the economy.

The revised individual income tax law states that the minimum threshold for personal income tax exemption will be raised from 3,500 yuan (US$513) to 5,000 yuan per month.

It adds special expense deductions for items like caring for the elderly, children’s education, continuing education, treatment for serious diseases, as well as housing loan interest and rent.

The revised e-commerce law will protect legal rights and interests of all parties and maintain market order, requiring all e-commerce operators to fulfill their obligations to protect consumers’ rights and interests as well as personal information, intellectual property rights, cyberspace security and the environment.

According to the new law on soil pollution prevention, national standards for soil pollution risk control will be set by the environmental authority of the State Council based on soil’s contamination status, public health risks and ecological risks.

The law, passed after the third reading at the five-day standing committee session, also states that a nationwide soil condition census should be conducted at least once every 10 years.

The new law filled the legal void on soil protection and will go into effect on January 1, 2019.

The legislators also reviewed bills on the draft farmland occupation tax law and draft vehicle purchase tax law, as well as State Council reports, including the enforcement of the national economic and social development plan this year.

At the closing meeting, lawmakers voted to approve a treaty of extradition between China and Barbados.