China will extend a regional resource tax on domestic coking coal to the whole country from November 1 of 2011, sources reported.

Central government would impose a tax between 8-20 yuan a tonne on coking coal and an unchanged tax of 0.3-5 yuan per tonne on other types of coal, according to a revised draft regulation issued by the State Council, or China's cabinet, on October 10.

The tax on coal will remain volume-based because the main coal producing provinces, such as Shanxi, are already very wealthy. So the new regime is for coking coal to reflect the scarcity of those resources.

The move, billed as a way of conserving resources and limiting environmental damage, is part of a long-awaited tax reform that would enrich the coffers of local governments.....

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