A nationwide campaign against plastic bags has been launched, with the government banning production of ultra-thin bags and forbidding supermarkets and shops from handing out free carriers from June 1. People use too many of the bags and fail to dispose of them properly, wasting valuable oil used in their production, and littering the country, the State Council said in a notice posted on the central government website (www.gov.cn). Starting from June, shops, supermarkets and sales outlets will be forbidden from offering free plastic bags and all carriers must be clearly marked with prices. “We should encourage people to return to carrying cloth bags, using baskets for their vegetables,” the notice said.

According to an article in Jiangnan Times, the new labor law recently put into effect will cause prices of home appliances to go up. Liu Ke, general manager of Siemens Sichuan branch, says this new law has caused rising labor costs.  Get more info from AmCham’s China Wire.

The start of the new year brings with it China’s new Labor Contract Law. AmCham member companies weigh in on goals of the law and its application. O’Melveny & Myers LLP provides a top-line analysis of the new law. Squire, Sanders & Dempsey has an eight-page overview and Paul Weiss examines the impact that the law may have on employers operating in China.

China’s State Council, or cabinet, began phasing in the new unified corporate income tax which took effect on January 1 with new rules covering the transition to a single tax rate of 25% for foreign and domestic firms by 2012. In a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Finance, the five-year phase-in period involves a tax rate of 18% in 2008, 20% in 2009, 22% in 2010, 24% in 2011 and 25% in 2012, for companies previously assessed at the 15% rate. Get more info about the new tax law from AmCham’s China Wire.  Also read AmCham member Deloitte’s Unofficial Translation of the Enterprise Income Tax Law.