Download ETR - SEI Tallinn

International seminar on
International
Ecological
Tax Reform (ETR)
11.4.2006 Tallinn
Erja Heino
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation
(FANC)
[email protected]
ETR in Finland
Playfield
High income tax
High employers’ social contributions
Few environmental taxes and concentrated
on energy and traffic
Non-existing taxation on (other) natural
resource use
Environmentally related taxes
3,2 % of GNP (3,4 % in 1998)
ETR in governments
programme
BUT
Main change so far: large income tax
reductions.
No new environmentally related taxes.
Some environmental taxes even lowered
like tax on beverage packaging.
Finland delivered all emission allowances
free of charge.
Fiscal income from environmentally related
taxes in Finland (million EUR)
1998
2000
2002
2004
2005
A
A
A
B
BP
Alcoholic beverage surtax 10
12
20
20
-
Soft drinks surtax
2
1
2
2
-
Drinks packaging tax
-
-
-
-
13
Pesticide fee
2
2
2
2
2
Energy taxes
2,572
2,268
2,756
2,990
3,010
Oil waste tax
3
3
4
3
3
Motor vehicle tax
884
1,058
1,023
1,020
1,294
Oil pollution control fee
6
5
6
9
9
Vehicle licence tax
201
219
446
513
536
Diesel tax
175
181
-
-
-
Waste tax
31
33
32
49
53
Total
3,886
3,784
4,291
4,608
4,920
130,145
139,803
147,713
153,762
2.9
3.1
3.1
3.2
GDP
115,596
Environmental tax revenues as
a percen
tage of GDP
3.4
Note: A = Final accounts, B = Budget, BP = Budget proposal
Source: Statistic Finland
http://www.stat.fi/tup/tiedotteet/v2004/198ympe.html
Energy related taxes: CO2
Finland first to introduce CO2 tax in 1990
(fuel oils, natural gas, coal and electricity)
In 1994 changed to an energy and CO2 tax,
carbon content defined 75 %, energy content 25
%, reduced tax on natural gas
From 1997 CO2 tax again a 100 % carbon tax,
but only on heat production, for peat reduced tax
In 1998 refund scheme for energy intensive
industries: 10-12 companies, mainly pulp and
paper get it
Today CO2 tax is the most dominant (half)of
various duties on fossil fuels
In 2005 CO2 tax on peat was abolished
Excise tax and other fees on fuels
From1993 basic excise tax on mineral oils
From 1994 precautionary stock fee and oil
pollution fee on fossil fuels  minor
meaning
From 1997 excise tax only on light fuel oil
Energypolicy and ETR
Tax rebate on renewable grants appr. 50 million
EUR to renewable energy producers.
33 million investment aid for renewable energy
year 2002, firstly for wood energy, second wind
10 million R&D aid to renewable energy
technologies in 2003
Emission trading: all emission allowances
delivered free of charge
 Energy companies profited for this in 2005:
Pohjolan voima 56 milion EUR, Fortum 25,
Helsinki Energy 13
Excise duty on electricity
consumption (Eurcent/kWh)
before 1997 the production was taxed, now
consumption taxed
1997
House- 0,57
1999
0,70
2000
0,70
2002
0,70
2005
0,74
0,43
0,43
0,43
0,45
hold
Industry
0,25
Source: IEA., 2004, and IEA, 2005
Tax on waste
Waste tax on waste delivered to municipal landfills
from year 1996 15 EUR/tonne
from year 2005 30 EUR/tonne
No tax to waste incineration or private landfills
 resulted in popularity of incineration and distorts the
waste treatment markets
Packaging taxation
Tax on non-refillable beverage containers since
1993 + compulsory deposit system.
 the amount of packaging waste in Finland is
approximately half of the average in EU countries
2005 a reduced charge on recycled one way
packaging 0,085 EUR/litre
non recycled 0,51 EUR/litre
Charge for recycled beverage packaging will be
removed  resulted already in growth of beverage
packaging waste, in the long run reusable plastic
bottles will be replaced by one way bottles.
ETR
of FANCof
ETRproposal
proposals
FANC
New taxes on the use of natural resources:
gravel materials, water, metals, oil, etc.
New/enlargened taxes one way or short live –
products like packing, napkins, one way battery
Waste to industry landfills and incineration
Road transportation
Nuclear power
SO2,
NOx
Advertisement
Nitrogen and phosphorus
ETR proposals of FANC
Reduce taxation and costs:
- income tax
- VAT on renting, repairing, maintenance
and leasing services
- employers social contributions on services
- of all bio fuels (biodiesel, -ethanol) used
in traffic
- VAT on eg. ecolabelled products
ETR proposals of FANC
Reduce harmful subsidies, for instance
- on agriculture and forestry
- on energy investments for non-renewable like peat
and waste
- exemption for commuter costs
- deduction of company car
New instruments
- feed-in tariff needed for wind and solar energy, but
is offered for peat
= electricity companies have to sell certain amount
of electricity produced of peat