Proposals of environmental fiscal reforms and the obstacles to their implementation (original) (raw)
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EVALUATION OF THE EXPERIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL TAX REFORMS IN THE EU COUNTRIES
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Environmental Tax Reform in Europe: Opportunities for the future
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Perspective of Environmental Tax Reform in Europe
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Many economists have considered eco-taxation as a possible solution to many environmental problems. Sweden's Carbon Tax is the first example of such taxation scheme in actual use. The Ukraine introduced an Environmental Tax Reform in 2011. This paper presents an analysis of tendencies in the environmental policy and taxation in the European countries. Particular attention is paid to Sweden - the first and Ukraine - the last of the countries, which introduced the Environmental Taxes. Keywords: Environmental Tax, Carbon Tax, Environmental Tax Reform. Introduction. The deficit of natural resources will certainly become one of the signs of the 21st century. At the beginning of 20th century scientists noticed the change of quality of environment in large industrial cities (15). Currently, Greenhouse Gas Emissions are the main reason of the global warming threat. The introduction of Environmental Taxes Reform can become a powerful instrument in solving many ecological problems. Theref...
Comparative Evaluation of Experience in Environmental Tax Reforms in Chosen EU States
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Environmental Tax Reform in the European Union: Impact on CO2 Emissions and the Economy
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Economic instruments in environmental policy try to correct prices in order to internalise externalities. The environmental tax reform is a specific policy approach, which raises taxation of ‘bads’ such as resource use or emissions and reduces other taxes on ‘goods’ such as labour that are felt as a burden so that the total tax revenue remains constant. On a small scale some European countries introduced this instrument, and the results have been evaluated broadly positive by the literature. The paper at hand gives answers to the question, what might happen to CO2 emissions and the economy, if this instrument would be used in all European countries in a scale that allows reaching the European CO2 emission targets. The instrument of the analysis is the global economy-energy-environment model GINFORS. The simulation results show that the targets can be met with only small losses in GDP and gains in employment. Ökonomische Instrumente der Umweltpolitik versuchen die Preise so zu korrig...
European Taxes and Incentives to Support the Environmental Transition
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The EU-27 has multiple environmental policy instruments among which revenues-based mechanisms and direct or indirect subsidies stand out. In the first group, around 142 taxes have been identified, whose objective is to reduce GHG emissions. The second group includes tax incentives divided into five very broad categories. To this must be added the spending on environmental protection that has grown until reaching 269 EUR billion in the last year (analyzed by Eurostat). The tax structures in the EU-27, Iceland, Norway, and United Kingdom are quite similar and show how the main segment comes from taxes on energy followed by taxes on transport, and taxes on pollution or resources. Some of them, more than an environmental goal, has the purpose of collecting taxes. The article seeks to underline the need to jointly manage the revenues and expenditures policy in environmental matters and increase control over its use, implementation, recipients, and effectiveness.
Environmental taxation in the European Union—Analysis, challenges, and the future
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In this paper, the authors intend to show that environmental taxes are an economic instrument that entirely supports the principles of sustainable development and has impact on balanced improvement of all its four pillars (economic, ecological, social, and institutional). Environmental taxes provide a flexible and cost-effective means for reinforcing the polluter-pays principle and for reaching environmental policy objectives. Enforcement of environmental taxes (and penalties) simultaneously generates multiple values-it stimulates ecologically acceptable production, generates budget revenue, and stimulates socially responsible behavior. The subject of the analysis is determination of environmental taxes in the European Union (EU) member states in total amount and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as monitoring of their trend in the period 2005-2010. To obtain a broad picture, results collected for EU-27 region have been compared with data for sample countries worldwide, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) countries. The revenue from environmental taxes in the EU-27 is not negligible, amounting to about 3% of total revenues. The highest tax revenue as a percent of GDP was noted in Denmark-9% on average. Environmentally related revenues and their percent of GDP in sample countries reported diverse results. In the USA, China, and India, environmentally related revenue as a percent of GDP stood at around 1%, with a downward trend in time. The highest tax revenue as a percent of GDP was recorded in Turkey, Russia, South Africa, and Brazil, 4% on average, with an upward trend in time. However, increasing revenues from environmental taxes should be interpreted with caution. The increases may be caused by the introduction of new taxes or an increase in tax rates, or alternatively may be linked to an increase in the tax base. V
Issues and Objectives of Green Tax Reform Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series
In this paper we try to argue why the environmental tax reform should be welcome, especially in our times of economic and financial instability. Therefore, we first state some principles of welfare economics concerning the environment and also remind the debate and outcomes on the double dividend paradigm. Then we briefly review and analyse the main instruments of environmental fiscal policy and their potential impact on public finances. We are now able to figure and analyse the main objectives, outlooks and issues of implementing a green tax reform in the European Union. In the end are some conclusions and recommendations for an effective environmental taxation in Romania.
Since the Kyoto Protocol entered into force in February 2005, many Parties to the Protocol have shifted their domestic policies into high gear to achieve the quantitative reductions in greenhouse gas emissions undertaken for the period from 2008 to 2012. While the basic design of environmental taxation in European countries has received widespread attention, its actual performance has not been systematically assessed. This report aims at examining, against pre-determined criteria (e.g. impact on costs and prices, competition and trade, environmental impacts and recycling mechanisms), how effectively environmental taxation systems are functioning. Most importantly, the report analyses the political dynamics behind these systems and how they have changed the ‘optimal’ tax design into a ‘politically feasible’ tax design.
The Benefits of Environmental Fiscal Reforms in an Integrated Europe
Review of International Economics, 1997
This paper analyses the effects of an environmental fiscal reform where the environmental tax revenue is used to reduce the tax burden on labor in order to increase employment. The study tries to assess the benefits generated by this type of reform in an integrated Europe where different degrees of tax harmonization can be achieved. The differential impact of cooperative fiscal reforms versus noncooperative ones is quantified through the use of a newly developed general equilibrium model. The results suggest that only a high degree of harmonization, in which both revenue and expenditure policies are coordinated, can provide significant environmental and employment benefits.