Chinese govt is mulling e-commerce tax

China's departments of finance and taxation are studying the feasibility of taxing goods sold via e-commerce and trying to draft laws for the tax, sources said.

Legislation of e-commerce tax is undergoing preliminary research, and the final target is to promote the healthy development of this industry, the Ministry of Commerce spokesman Yao Jian was quoted as saying by the Beijing News on Wednesday.

Zhang Jindong, chairman of Suning Appliance, proposed during this year's Two Sessions that the taxation department should tax e-commerce activities.

This proposal was adopted by related government departments, and a 5-percent tax was reported to be levied toward e-commerce trade within this year.