| China Imposes Consumption Tax on Chopsticks | 0 comments |
 23 Mar 2006 @ 03:53, by Raymond Powers The January - February print issue of WorldWatch Magazine intimated that China was considering a nationwide 5% tax on disposable chopsticks. It would seem they were on the money, as the chopstick tax is now due to implemented next month, according to a news report. The news story notes the Chinese government as saying “it is a terrible waste of timber that is depleting the country's forests.” The WorldWatch piece would agree with this, indicating that China produces some 450 billion pairs a year — just for domestic use alone, downing the equivalent of 25 million trees. This new tax is part of round of consumption taxes to help China cut “energy use by a fifth over the next five years and improve the environment.” Should we now look to the West to impose a consumption tax on ice cream sticks and coffee stirrers? Now, there’s thought |