Green tax shift

摘要

For the last eight years, the minimum EU tax rates for heating and motor fuels have promoted coal and discouraged ethanol biofuel use - a strange outcome in terms of environmental incentives, but one caused by heating fuels being taxed on energy content and motor fuels by volume. This runs counter to the EU's stated ambition to cut carbon emissions from heating and transport by 2020 and beyond. It is an effect which the European Commission wishes to redress. The Commission has proposed that taxes for both heating and motor fuels should be based on a combination of energy content and carbon emissions. The proposal sets a single minimum rate for C02 emissions of €20 ($29.19) per metric ton for all heating and motor fuels used in sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System.