1. The OECD/EU database on environmentally related taxes Presentation at the “Economic Accounts for the Environment” and “Environmental Expenditure Statistics” meeting of EUROSTAT Luxembourg, 18 January 2001 By Nils Axel Braathen, OECD, Environment Directorate

2. The database on environmentally related taxes l Is a joint OECD/EU project l Can be accessed at www.oecd.org/env/policies/taxes/index.htm l Free of charge l Through a number of predefined queries.

3. Definition of environmentally related taxes: l Any compulsory, unrequited payment to general government levied on a tax-base deemed to be of particular environmental relevance. l The name or purpose of the tax is not a criterion. l A tax can be earmarked, but this is not a criterion. l Levies paid to environmental funds outside “general government” are not included. l Some information on fees and charges (requited payments) is however included in the database.

4. Revenues from environmentally related taxes In per cent of total tax revenues

5. Revenues from environmentally related taxes In per cent of GDP

6. Revenues from environmentally related tax-bases 21 OECD Member countries, 1995

7. Contents of the database Searchable Searchable information on : l All tax-bases covered by each tax (Sometimes very many) l Definition of each tax-base in each tax l Tax rates for each tax-base (In national currency and € ) l Detailed description of all exemptions, refund mechanisms and tax ceilings for each tax l Revenues raised by each tax (1994-1998, in US$) l Administrative set-up l Responsibility for payment of each tax l Any earmarking: Share and purpose

8. Fuel tax rates in some OECD countries 1.1.2000

9. J will be set up in co-operation between OECD and EEA; and J will cover *Tradable permit schemes *Deposit / refund systems *Environmentally motivated subsidies A complementary, connected, database

10. Main structure of the new database: Common for all schemes Scheme ID Scheme Name E.g. SO 2 emission permits Country Purpose Year of Last Revision Details Year of Introduction Introducing Authority Overall administrative authority Day-to-day administrative authority Contact Person Domain Water pollution Air pollution Climate change Land contamination Waste management Natural resource management Evaluation References to relevant publications. Scheme category Tradable permits system Deposit-refund system Subsidy

11. Deposit - refund systems Scheme ID Sub-scheme ID Sub-scheme label E.g.: Deposit -refund system for PET bottles Deposit rate What is charged when a product is bought? Refund rate What is charged when a product is handed in? Return percentage Which percentage of products bought is handed in? Comments Any additional information DRS - Domain Glass bottles Plastic bottles Aluminium cans Other beverage containers Other packaging Batteries Tyres Motor vehicles Other

12. Environmentally motivated subsidies Scheme ID Sub-scheme ID Year Public expense or revenue- loss for the whole scheme Subsidy Cost Sub-scheme label E.g.: Subsidies to promote energy savings in SMEs Subsidy criteria What determines the size of the subsidy to be given? E.g.: The degree of planned abatement or the assumed technical risk. SS -Year SS - Cost Public expense or revenue- loss for the sub-scheme Subsidy type Grant Soft loan Loan guarantee Accelerated depreciation Other Details What is the subsidy element? E.g.: Interest rate or guarantee fee 2% below the market rate. Target group Households All enterprises Manufacturing enterprises Agriculture Small / medium enterprises Power generators Public transport Other Comments Any additional information. Domain Research and development Investment in physical capital Energy saving Operation of treatment facilities in plants, etc. Operation of public treatment facilities, etc. Clean-up of earlier pollution Market penetration of “clean” products Training of employees Other

13. Tradable permits Scheme ID Sub-scheme ID Sub-scheme Label E.g. SO 2 -permits for power plants Sub-scheme Type  Quotas  Credits  Averaging  Obligations  Others SS -Year SS - Revenue Public revenue concerning the sub-scheme Trade  Yes  No Tradable commodity What is the exact item that can be traded? E.g.: The right to emit 1 kg SO 2 Trading Partners Who can trade, with whom? Banking  Yes  No Borrowing  Yes  No Bubbles  Yes  No Interzone trade with offset rates  Yes  No TP-domain  CO 2  SO 2  NO x  VOC  Other Spatial dimension Local Regional National International Allocation type Unconditional grandfathering Conditional grandfathering Auctioning Other Comments Any additional information. Transaction number How many separate trades took place in a given year? Trade volume How many items was traded a given year? Permit prices Examples of prices per traded item. Monitoring type Continuous measurement, estimates based on technologies used, etc.? Year Revenue Public revenue concerning the whole scheme Number of permits available

14. Contact points between the two databases l Country  Thus, it will be easy to extract information concerning all types of instruments in a given country. l Scheme domain, such as X Water pollution, Air pollution, Climate change, Land contamination, Waste management, Natural resource management  Hence, one can easily extract information on all types of instruments used in a given domain -- in one country or more.

15. Next steps l Ensure good co-ordination. (Statistical offices, Ministries, OECD, EU) l Update tax rates and rules, etc, per 1.1.2001, using special CD-ROMs. (OECD, MoF) l Collect information concerning other economic instruments, using CD-ROMs. (OECD, MoE, MoF) l Linking physical data to tax bases? (SO, EUROSTAT, OECD) l Calculate effective tax rates? (SO, EUROSTAT, OECD)