Cash-strapped local governments in China have started demanding taxes from the country’s steel mills up to two years in advance, an unusual practice that highlights how desperate some cities have become for funds.
Chinese mills, which produce nearly half the world’s steel, have traditionally been cash cows for local governments.
But last year, as China’s economy slowed, profits at the country’s biggest steel mills dropped 98 per cent from the previous year, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.
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