Chinese authorities have a timetable for implementing a system of taxing polluters, a senior law researcher has revealed.

據一位高級法律研究員透露，為了貫徹落實污染者稅收制度，中國當局制定了一個時間表。

The long-awaited tax, which will replace the current administrative penalties that are widely seen as ineffective, will be ushered in after the law behind it is finalized.

稅法立案后，這個期待已久的稅收制度將會取代現行收效甚微的行政處罰制度。

The draft law is due to be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress at the end of this year, after it is first made available to the public to solicit their views, Sun Youhai, director of the China Institute of Applied Jurisprudence of the Supreme People's Court, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

周三，最高人民法院中國應用法學研究所所長接受孫佑海新華社采訪時說，這個立法草案首次向公眾公布征求意見，之后將會在今年年底提交給全國人民代表大會常務委員會。

Sun said he learned the timetable from the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, which has been considering the draft law since receiving it in March 2013 from the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

孫佑海所長說他通過國務院法制辦公室了解到這個時間表。自2013年3月，國務院法制辦公室從國家財政部、國家稅務局、國家環保部收到這個時間表后，就開始研究立法草案。

Premier Li Keqiang touched on the tax legislation in his government work report last Thursday.

上周四，李克強總理進行政府工作報告時也談及此稅收立法。

Backed by comprehensive regulation and collected by taxation authorities, the tax will be more powerful in discouraging companies from polluting and will fuel investment in the green industry, experts believe.

專家相信，以綜合管理為堅強后盾、由稅務機關進行征稅，這項稅收將會更有力地阻止企業污染環境、刺激綠色產業投資。

Under the current system, environmental watchdogs are tasked with charging companies for pollution, but they have been ineffective in doing so.

根據現行制度，環境監督部門的任務是向污染環境的企業收費，但是這種做法收效甚微。

In 2013, China should have levied pollutant discharge fees totaling 57.5 billion yuan (about 9.2 billion U.S. dollars), but less than 40 percent of the sum was collected, according to Jia Kang, former head of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the MOF.

據前財政部財政科學研究所所長賈康說，2013年，中國本應征收污染物排放費用總計575億元人民幣（約92億元美元），但實際只征收了不到40%。

Under the draft law, the tax will be levied based on emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, dust and ammoniacal nitrogen, as well as chemical oxygen demand.

根據立法草案，稅收的征收以二氧化硫、氮氧化物、灰塵、氨態氮以及化學需氧量的排放為依據。

Companies will be inspired to invest in anti-pollution technology, boosting this nascent sector and providing a new growth point for the economy, said Professor Lan Hong at Renmin University's School of Environmental and Natural Resources.

人民大學環境與自然資源學院的藍虹教授說，這樣做可以鼓勵企業投資研發防污染技術，推動新生產業的發展，為經濟提供一個新的增長點。

China's investment in environmental protection is far below the internationally-recognized standard of 3 percent of GDP needed to improve the environment, according to Wang Canfa, director of an environmental research body under the China University of Political Science and Law.

中國政法大學下屬的環境研究所所長王燦發說，按照國際認可標準，一個國家改善環境的支出需占國內生產總值的3%，而中國在環境保護方面的投資還遠低于此標準。

Despite the high hopes, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said on the sidelines of the parliamentary session that the tax is not a panacea to pollution woes and will not became a major source of government revenue.

盡管期望很高，財政部長樓繼偉在兩會期間說，稅收畢竟不是治理污染問題的萬全之策，它不會成為政府收入的主要來源。

Environmental minister Chen Jining told a press conference earlier this month that China is facing a development-environment conflict that is "unprecedented in human history".

本月初，環保部部長陳吉寧在新聞發布會上說，中國正面臨著“人類史上空前的”發展與環境的矛盾。

Several experts interviewed by Xinhua said they believe the country's pollutant discharge will peak around 2020 and a turning point in environmental quality can only be expected around 2030.

接受新華社采訪的幾位專家說，他們相信，我國的污染物排放約在2020年達到頂峰，環境質量的轉折點要到2030年左右才能出現。

"We're in the dark before the dawn," said Luo Jianhua, secretary general of the China Environment Chamber of Commerce.

中華全國環境商會的秘書長駱建華說：“我們正處于黎明前的黑暗中。”

Vocabulary

timetable: 時間表

pollutant discharge fees: 排污費

sulfur dioxide: 二氧化硫

nitrogen oxides: 氮氧化物

ammoniacal nitrogen: 氨態氮

nascent: 新生的

panacea: 靈丹妙藥

unprecedented: 空前的

（譯者：梁舒婷SCNU 編輯：祝興媛）