Green Tax inquiry launched

Environmental Audit Committee inquiry: Budget 2011 and environmental taxes

Budget 2011 and environmental taxes: Oral evidence session announced

The Environmental Audit Committee has launched a new inquiry into the environmental impact of the Budget 2011 and green taxes.

01 April 2011
 
 
A new inquiry launched by the Environmental Audit Committee will seek to gather evidence on the environmental impact of the Budget 2011 and green taxes. The inquiry will examine how well environmental taxes are being used to deliver on environmental goals and aid the transition to the low carbon economy, as well as attempting to ascertain whether the Budget 2011 strikes the right balance between environmental and wider economic objectives. The Committee also wishes to use the inquiry to scrutinize the ‘Plan for Growth’, which was published alongside the Budget 2011, to provide a check on the sustainable development and environmental protection aspects of the plan. The Committee is welcoming submissions of written evidence from interested parties on the following themes:
 
  • Whether Budget 2011 furthers the Government’s green objectives, including the impact of the cut in fuel duty on greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. 
  • Approaches to shifting the burden of taxation from ‘goods’ (e.g. labour) to ‘bads’ (e.g. emissions) and factors that need to be considered when designing and introducing green taxes. 
  • The scope for the tax system to create a ‘modal shift’ from high carbon transportation to low carbon alternatives, including Fuel Duty, Vehicle Excise Duty, and Air Passenger Duty and issues the Government should consider when developing strategies for sustainable aviation and motoring.
  • The scope for the taxation system to protect and increase stocks of natural capital and the possible role of proposed ‘natural accounts’.
  • The impact of the taxation system in general on sustainable development.
  • How policy proposals in ‘The Plan for Growth’ will affect sustainable development and environmental protection (i.e. planning, green growth, low carbon investment, regulations etc). 
  • The announcement in Budget 2011 on the Green Investment Bank. 
 
More wide ranging responses to the call for evidence are also being welcomed, with the closing date for submissions the 20 April 2011. 
 
Groups: