China raises sales tax on big cars

China’s Finance Ministry announced it would raise the sales taxes on large automobiles and cut taxes on smaller cars to promote more fuel-efficient models and combat emissions, Bloomberg reported. The tax on passenger vehicles with engines bigger than 4 liters will jump from 20% to 40%, while the tax on cars with engines sized from 2-4 liters will increase from 15% to 25%. Cars with engines of 1-liter capacity or less will see their tax rate fall from 3% to 1%. The changes will be effective September 1. The sales of sedans with engines between 3 and 4 liters rose six-fold last year to 12,100 units, while cars with engines less than 1 liter fell 31% to 251,700, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.