Coal slump hits Shanxi taxes

Dropping coal demand and prices have reduced tax revenue in North China's Shanxi Province, a major coal producer, chinanews.com reported Sunday.

Coal sales have declined year-on-year, causing sharp drops in coal prices since the second half of 2012, and the market is not good at present, a staff member at a local coal producer was quoted as saying by chinanews.com Sunday.

Shanxi's value-added tax (VAT) from the coal sector had dropped by 37.5 percent year-on-year in February 2013 after witnessing steady monthly declines from July 2012.

It is unlikely that the coal market will see a short-term turnaround, and some coal mines may be forced to reduce output, a local taxation official said.