The tax authority has greatly increased the number of locations where vehicle and ship tax can be paid in an effort to make the procedure easier.

Starting yesterday, taxpayers can pay vehicle and ship tax at all banks and traffic police bureaus using their UnionPay cards.

Since the tax authority started charging tax for the use of vehicles and ships Jan. 1, 2005, owners had been paying the tax at the 99 outlets of China Construction Bank (CCB). The number of payment locations has now been increased to more than 800.

The move is expected to reduce the long queues at CCB branches, as the number of car owners in the city recently passed 940,000 and is increasing at a speed of 20 percent annually.

However, taxpayers still need to register their new vehicles with the CCB and confirm late fees there.

A delay in paying the tax will result in a daily late fee amounting to 0.05 percent of the tax value, with a maximum fine of up to 2,000 yuan (US$250), according to the tax authority.

Due to weak enforcement of tax rules, owners of 310,000 vehicles did not pay the vehicle tax in 2005, accounting for 41 percent of the total vehicles registered in the city, prompting the traffic authority to stop holding the annual examination of vehicles belonging to people who didn't pay the tax.

As a result, the amount of tax paid by owners of automobiles and ships more than doubled this year, reaching 170 million in the first 11 months, figures from the tax authority show.

Editor: Yan