SHANGHAI: More than 260,000 companies and other entities in China that discharge pollutants will have to start paying an environment tax in April, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the tax authority.

The Environmental Protection Tax Law took effect on January 1 requiring taxpayers to file quarterly, with the first period starting on April 1, it said.

The law targets enterprises and public institutions that discharge listed pollutants directly into the environment, and stipulates that companies will have to pay taxes for producing noise, air and water pollutants, as well as solid waste, according to Xinhua.

The tax is the latest in a string of measures the government has adopted to try to clean up the environmental legacy of decades of growth-at-all-costs economic development.