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International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

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Because the packaging tax is new in the Netherlands, no post-implementation studies<br />

are available to date. It is interesting to note, however, the relative rates applied in<br />

the Danish, Dutch and Belgian systems (see Table 28-3). These highlight the fact that<br />

in all systems, aluminium is deemed to be the material which should attract the<br />

highest tax rate. One problem with both approaches is that they do not appear to take<br />

into account whether the material is primary or secondary in origin.<br />

Table 28-3: Relative Environmental Scores <strong>of</strong> Packaging Materials in Belgium,<br />

Denmark and the Netherlands (per kilogram and with glass set to 1)<br />

504<br />

29/09/09<br />

Material Material Material<br />

Belgium Belgium Belgium<br />

Denmark Denmark Denmark Netherlands<br />

Netherlands<br />

Netherlands<br />

Paper & board 0<br />

0.3 recycling<br />

0.5 no recycling<br />

Glass 1 1 1<br />

Steel 5 5 2.5<br />

Aluminium 18 18 12.6<br />

Plastics 7 PS & PVC<br />

4-7<br />

11 EPS & PVC<br />

Source: CE Delft (2007) Environmental Indices for the Dutch Packaging Tax, Delft: CE<br />

Delft, November 2007.<br />

28.6 Implementation Costs<br />

When considering the scheme in Denmark, the Tax and Customs Administration<br />

Ministry invested 1.9 MDKK (~€0.25m) in information and technology systems in<br />

order to collect and administer the tax. 602 The operating cost for 1999 was 0.2 MDKK<br />

(~€300k), with an additional 5 full-time equivalents per annum required to operate<br />

the scheme. 603<br />

In many instances, the packaging tax is perceived to be more difficult to collect than<br />

other taxes due to there being a number <strong>of</strong> definitions to be checked and<br />

assessments to be made in relation to the products covered by the list <strong>of</strong> customs<br />

codes. Furthermore, the tax is collected from quite a large number <strong>of</strong> producers<br />

rather than being specific to just a few companies.<br />

In the Netherlands, although 95% <strong>of</strong> packaging products / materials are covered by<br />

levies, the first 15,000kg <strong>of</strong> packaging for each business is exempt from tax. This<br />

means that 98% <strong>of</strong> businesses will incur no liability for packaging tax. It is believed<br />

602 ECOTEC in association with CESAM, C. U. (2001) Study on Environmental Taxes and Charges in the<br />

European Union and its Member States, Final report for the European Commission, April 2001.<br />

603 Ibid.<br />

1.5<br />

7.8

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