Environmental tax

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An environmental tax is levied by the state to protect the environment . As environmental protection tax (abbreviated Environment ), in a federally organized state also countries put a price and municipalities for environmentally harmful facts: With taxes and charges are to nature and the environment sustainably protected are.

Basics

A fundamental idea of ​​environmental taxes and environmental charges is to avoid an increase in the total tax burden by increasing taxation of the consumption of resources or the deterioration of the environment while at the same time relieving the burden of labor (revenue neutrality ). Thus, by lowering the cost of labor , the employment stabilized, or at correspondingly stronger taxation with a redistribution of income to the economy and citizens, the number of full acquisition workstations even increased ( double dividend ). The environmental tax thus becomes an ecological tax or incentive tax (COMETR study EEA 2010).

National

European Union

The European Union divides environmental taxes and environmental charges into two categories: COM (97) 09:

The member states of the EU must ensure that environmental taxes and charges are in line with Community obligations (competition law, internal market, tax policy) and with the rules of the World Trade Organization  (WTO). Various articles of the Treaty establishing the European Community must be observed (Articles 23–31, 72, 87, 89, 90, 92, 174). The income can be used to finance environmental protection measures, but it can also be used to reduce distortions of competition.

In the environmental thesaurus of the EU GEMET in the European Environment Information and Observation Network ( EIONET ), the environmental tax is defined as a sum of money raised by the government to finance cleaning, prevention, reduction, implementation or educational measures that are intended is to increase the ecological functionality and to preserve the natural riches. (English: An amount of money demanded by a government to finance clean-up, prevention, reduction, enforcement or educational efforts intended to promote ecological integrity and the conservation of natural resources ).

The basis for setting environmental taxes in the individual national states is also the EU Energy Tax Directive (2003/96 / EC) of October 27, 2003. Here, for example, minimum tax rates and tax exemptions are specified.

Germany

In Germany, other taxes are viewed as environmental taxes, such as the motor vehicle tax . Taxes on carbon dioxide fall under the category of energy as they are often part of general energy taxes.

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) called environmental taxes (English: environmental taxes ) / green taxes also with the alternative label environmental protection tax (English: pollution control tax ) and assigns this environmental economic instrument following specific terms for: waste discharge, waste discharge, waste water discharge , groundwater discharge, noise output, forest Pfennig, water extraction paid, CO 2 -Abgabe , conservation tax, nitrogen discharge, packaging delivery ( plastic bags control ), power control, power control, landfill control, border control compensation charges.

Austria

In Austria, the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) divides into four categories:

The share of total tax revenue in 2007 was 12.1% in Denmark, 5.8% in Austria and 5.7% in Germany (according to EURSTAT.)

Not to environmental taxes include royalties and other charges in connection with oil and gas production.

Sweden

Since April 2018, airline passengers in Sweden have had to pay an environmental tax on every flight that departs from a Swedish airport. This does not apply to children under two years of age, flight crews and travelers stopping over at a Swedish airport. This air traffic tax is between 5.80 euros and 38.80 euros per ticket, depending on the length of the flown route.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, taxes are levied on certain substances or products to protect the environment. These include the VOC tax on various chemicals, the CO 2 tax on fossil fuels or the climate cent on fuels. Energy- intensive companies that emit more than 100 tons of CO 2 per year can be exempted from the tax if, in return, they undertake to reduce their CO 2 emissions.

Effects on the economy and consumers

Experience with environmental taxes in some countries (Germany, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Switzerland), which has been made in Europe for several years, shows the success in stimulating the economy. In the case of extensive reimbursement, however, it must be weighed up whether society and politics want to focus more on relieving the labor market (job bonus), or whether the higher costs for consumers should be compensated for in the redistribution ( eco bonus ). Especially those who are not gainfully employed and single parents with children are particularly burdened by high environmental taxes if, as in Germany, only the contributions to the pension insurance are reduced. A balanced redistribution could strengthen the common good .

At the moment, however, environmental taxes are also very often used to finance the general state budget in order to avoid further national debts, but cannot be increased further in terms of socio-political considerations:

Influence of environmental taxes on democracy

An example: In South Korea , the enforceability of further ecological taxes ( fuel element tax / nuclear power plants) was examined with regard to the possible approval of voters. At Hanshin University in 2012, the effects of the environmental taxes (transport tax, consumption tax and local mobility taxes ) were examined using microsimulations . The existing unfavorable situation with the use of the revenues for the construction of roads both worsens the environmental pollution and prevents the expansion of taxes: the voters and political parties refused. Redistribution with a reduction in income taxes and social contributions would only benefit 35% of households. The Gini coefficient is deteriorating. With an Ecological Basic Income (Green Check) 40,000 won would be paid per household, 57% would be net recipients , i.e. more than half of the voters. In combination with free public transport, 76% would benefit from environmental taxes. The number of poor could be reduced significantly, the Gini coefficient lowered. The reimbursement is discussed there in connection with the enforceability of a tax on nuclear electricity against the voters.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ definition of environmental taxes , according Duden.de
  2. ↑ a b EU Environment Thesaurus GEMET, definition: environmental tax with numerous translations, European Environment Information and Observation Network.
  3. ↑ a b Federal Environment Agency: UMTHES environmental tax + environmental tax , in 2012 ( Memento of the original March 4, 2016 Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / data.uba.de
  4. ↑ EuroVoc (Multilingual Thesaurus of the European Union): Definition of environmental tax , accessed January 24, 2013.
  5. ↑ oebu-Switzerland: Mikael Skou Andersen, EEA 2010, COMparison of Environmental Tax Reform (COMETR) ( Memento of the original from November 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 29, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oebu.ch
  6. ↑ a b European Union, Communication from the Commission - Environmental Taxes and Charges in the Internal Market , 51997DC0009, COM / 97/0009 ENDG.
  7. ↑ Directive 2003/96 / EC (PDF) of the Council of October 27, 2003 on the restructuring of the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity.
  8. ↑ UMTHES: More specific terms for environmental taxes = environmental taxes
  9. ↑ Angela Köppl, Ecological Tax Reforms - Design Options for Austria , Forum Finanz, December 10, 2009 (PDF; 481 kB)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / m.bmf.gv.at  
  10. ↑ Sweden introduces environmental tax for air passengers In: DiePresse.com , April 1, 2018, accessed on April 2, 2018.
  11. ↑ Citizens start attacking the CO2 tax In: tagesanzeiger.ch , April 15, 2018, accessed on April 16, 2018.
  12. ↑ Martin Baur: Basics for an ecological tax reform , Eidgenössische Finanzverwaltung (FFA), July 2012, accessed December 31, 2012. ( (PDF; 241 kB) ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.efv.admin.ch
  13. ↑ Nam Hoon Kang (Hanshin University), The necessity And Effects Of Ecological Basic Income in Korea , September 15, 2012, BIEN-Conference (workshop 37) ( (PDF; 317 kB) )

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