The resource tax on several scarce minerals including tin ore, molybdenum ore, magnesite and talc have been raised according to a recent notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation, Economics Information Daily?reported Monday.

The tax on tin ore has been raised the highest, 20 times the previous figure, said the report.

"All the minerals concerned are scarce resources, which are of important strategic values. The tax raises signal the government is strengthening efforts in resources conservation," said a staff member from China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association.

According to statistics from the association, China ranks first in terms of tin ore, molybdenum ore, and magnesite reserves.

Taking molybdenum, a nonrenewable mineral, for example, China's reserves account for 38.4 percent of the world's total, according to the United States Geological Survey. Japan and Russia have established molybdenum strategic reserves, said the report.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation once said that China's resource tax rate is quite low and a tax increase is beneficial for protecting important resources.

An Tifu, professor at Renmin University of China, said that resource tax reform constitutes an important part in the overall tax reforms, which needs to undergo a structural adjustment. The added tax may increase the costs of enterprises, therefore proper adjustment of other taxes should be taken into consideration so as to help enterprises maintain a balance in tax payments.