Associated Press
Chinese buyers of eye-poppingly expensive cars will pay extra under Beijing’s latest effort to rein in ostentatious spending. The government has added a 10 percent import tax on “super-luxury vehicles” priced above $190,000.
The Finance Ministry said the tax is aimed at encouraging “rational consumption” and curbing energy use and emissions. Chinese leaders, who are trying to reduce reliance on trade and investment, also worry that extravagant spending by the elite is politically dangerous as economic growth slows.
The government of President Xi Jinping has imposed a steadily widening series of austerity measures since 2013 to discourage corruption and what Beijing deems excessive spending. They have chilled revenues for high-end restaurants and sales of brandy, designer handbags, watches and other luxury imports.
It wasn’t clear whether the latest tax, which explicitly targets imports, might run afoul of Beijing’s World Trade Organization commitments to treat foreign and domestic goods equally.
China has been the fastest-growing market for Rolls Royce, Ferrari and other luxury automakers, with some reporting annual sales gains of 50 to 100 percent in recent years.
— Associated Press
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