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

46.6 Implementation Costs
The compliance costs for the UK are estimated in a Regulatory Impact Assessment
which was undertaken prior to implementation of the tax. It divided the costs into
start-up costs and continuing costs as listed below:
660
� Start-up costs include:
29/09/09
• time to plan and prepare for the new tax
• make changes to administrative and computer systems to account for
the tax;
• staff training; and
• consequential printing costs.
These were thought to range between £750 for small businesses to £50,000 for
large businesses and up to £100,000 for large businesses with multi-site operations.
� Continuing costs include:
• maintaining records for Customs;
• completion of 4 tax returns per year; and
• dealing with visits from Customs officers.
These were estimated to range from £1,500 per annum for small businesses and up
to £10,000 per annum for larger players. 796
The administration cost of the tax varies considerably depending on how it is
implemented. For example, in the UK the administrative cost of the tax on aggregate
costs Customs and Excise €1.5 million per year (0.33% of total revenue raised), and
in Sweden it costs €0.38 (1.7% of total revenue raised) million per year. 797
46.7 Effects on Technical Change / Innovation
A direct result of implementing the policy is improvement of measurements and
monitoring systems regarding primary aggregate extraction because measurement of
extraction is an essential part of the mechanism through which the tax is levied.
The EEA report (2008) describes how in the UK the increasing use of recycled
aggregate material has encouraged aggregate producers and those in the
construction and demolition industry to diversify into the recycling market. In turn this
796 HM Customs & Excise Consultation (1998) Aggregates Levy Regulatory Impact Assessment,
Accessed 16 th February 2009,
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/downloadFile?contentID=HMCE_CL_001429
797 European Environment Agency (2008) Effectiveness of Environmental Taxes and Charges for
Managing Sand, Gravel and Rock Extraction in Selected EU Countries, Accessed 23 rd October 2008,
http://reports.eea.europa.eu/eea_report_2008_2/en/Effectiveness_of_environmental_taxes_final_lo
w.pdf