环境排污费改税的立法选择——基于税收本质观的重新思考

Legislation Choice for Environment Pollute-discharging Fee to Tax:Rethinking Based on the Essence of Tax

排污收费制度建立以来,对控制污染物的排放、加强环境保护发挥了一定的积极作用。然而,面对日益严峻的环境形势,由庇古理论衍生而来的制度设计的局限性、收缴制度的不完善和使用制度的激励不相容,决定了其在环境保护中的作用不能充分有效发挥。基于"税收是国家与人民就其财产权交割达成的协议"这种新型税收本质观,税与费的本质区别实为"费代表权,税代表法",排污费本质上具有"准税收"性质。通过去费立税,环境保护税在落实税收法定、提高制度设计质量、体现程序正义和加强监督上均更具优势,能够体现环境补偿、实现有效征收、防止腐败滋生,更好地发挥环境保护职能。因此,环境排污费改税是建设社会主义法治国家的必然选择。

The pollution-discharging system has played a positive role in controlling the emission of pollutants and strengthening the environmental protection. However, in face of increasingly severe environmental situation, limitations of the system itself, derived from Pigou theory, determines that its role in environmental proteetion could not be fully effective. This paper, based on the new tax essence view that ＂Tax is the property settlement agreement between national and people＇s tax revenue＂, rethinks about the essential difference between tax and fee; it is that ＂fee represents rights, tax represents law.＂ By taking this view analyzing the system defects in the existing pollution-discharging fee system that might leads to corruption, environment pollute-discharging fee changes into taxes is the inevitable choice for the construction of socialist country under the rule of law.