Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Green taxation will have minimal impact on the descent of the IRS – Reuters

Green taxation will have minimal impact on the descent of the IRS – Reuters

                 


                         
                     

                 

 
                         

A green tax reform that the Government wants to pursue will have in the short term, minimal impact on the IRS paid by households.


                     


                         The final report submitted on Monday to the executive by a committee of experts contains 59 proposals for taxes, environmental taxes and tax benefits. – 19 more than an initial version presented in June

Between the news is the increase in the rate paid by waste disposal in landfills and decreasing the value of a potential tax on plastic bags. The changes follow-up to a period of public consultation, where they were received 110 comments and suggestions.

The logic of the reform is to encumber activities, goods or behaviors that impact on the environment, opening the door to reduction of taxes on labor and business, on the principle of fiscal neutrality. But even with new measures added to the package, the amounts involved are still relatively low.

In total, the new or restructured tax will raise € 198 million. But some involve costs and the final balance will be 165 million.

The Commission for the Reform of Taxation Green, led by Jorge Vasconcelos and that the Government appointed in February, makes a concrete proposal for “recycling” of this value. Half would be converted into tax credits to small businesses that invest in energy efficiency. A fourth would also be for businesses in the form of a reduction of the single social tax.

The remaining 25% would be to cull the IRS. In practice are 41 million discount on global values, in the State Budget for 2014, is estimated at EUR 12 700 million. Or 0.3% less.

The quantification of how the green fees will be recycled by reducing other taxes is one of the novelties of the report delivered to the Government, whose details will be shown this Tuesday at a conference in Lisbon. One of the main criticisms of the first version of the report was precisely that: a. Fiscal neutrality that was not guaranteed here

Among the 19 new tax measures of the final report is a more significant increase in the management fee waste, always pay that deposit waste in landfills. The rate has already gone up. When it was created in 2007, was two euros per tonne of municipal waste. Last year reached 4.27 euros per ton, but still is considered low to discourage landfill, a practice that is increasingly being limited by European legislation.

Some measures already contained in the Initial proposals have now been changed. One is the tax on plastic bags, strongly criticized by the distribution sector and industry. The initial proposal was that it was 10 cents per bag. Now dropped to eight cents.

The Commission for the Reform of Taxation Green also fell in tax on air travel, excluding them all flights within the European Economic Area. Remains a proposed rate of three euros per ticket on domestic flights only, but there is also a fee of 15 euros for flights outside Europe.

The same is the rate of carbon the main measure of green taxation. Takes the form of an additional on the ISP (tax on petroleum products energy), indexed to the price of CO2 on the European carbon market. With the current value of CO2 – about five euros per ton. – The new rate represents an increase of about one percent in gasoline and diesel to the consumer

A change in the price of CO2 will be crucial to increase the cake raised by green taxes and allow a more significant reduction of the IRS and other taxes.

In the range of measures that the Government has on the table are proposals with a positive impact on the environment and the pocket citizens, as the IRS deductions for the purchase of bicycles and social passes, benefits for the purchase of electric cars and the reintroduction of the incentive system on vehicles in late life.

The Government has already announced that it intends that the green tax reform has an impact already in the State Budget for 2015.

                     
 
                     
                 

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