Commission approves aid measures in amended Dutch environmental tax legislation
The Commission has approved the aid measures contained in the amendments to Dutch environmental tax legislation. The amended legislation, which entered into force on 1 January 1995, introduced a groundwater tax and a waste tax for the first time. The initial legislation on groundwater and waste tax was approved by the Commission in 1992, and in 1994 the CO2/energy tax on fossil fuels and the tax on Uranium-235 were examined and approved by the Commission. The legislation introduces one permanent and two temporary exceptions to the general consumption tax on groundwater and on waste contained in the Law on Environmental Taxes. The legislation broadens the base of the existing environmental legislation to more goods whose consumption or creation has negative effects on the environment, and will increase tax revenues substantially. The tax exceptions contained in the legislation are aid, since they relieve a number of companies from the full tax burden they would normally have to bear. The principal exemptions concern rinse water used for reusable product packaging, tax on waste for de-inking residue, and plastic recycling waste. The Commission concluded that the environmental tax legislation is in line with the Commission's policy on environmental taxation.
Countries
Netherlands