Much discussion is currently occurring about climate change, global warming and rising sea levels – in fact, most discussions, at one point or another, end up focusing on the weather.
However, reaction has been surprisingly muted following the release of a 139-page discussion paper by the National Treasury in April 2007 entitled “Market based Instruments to Support Environmental Fiscal Reform in South Africa” (referred to as “the discussion paper”) in April 2007.
The discussion paper examines a concept known as “green tax” or “environmental tax”, which is a fiscal instrument not entirely new to South Africa. The tax aims to adjust existing revenue laws to yield results that are, in essence, friendly to both the environment and the fiscus. The benefits of the tax may even improve foreign policy by ensuring compliance by South Africa with multilateral environmental agreements.
The discussion paper defines an environmental tax “as a tax levied on an environmentally harmful tax base”. This includes taxes on transport fuels, motor vehicle taxes, emissions taxes, landfill taxes and, more broadly speaking, energy taxes.
The concept of a green tax is not an entirely new concept..
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