Environmental tax measures

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 1 Feb 2021 Closed: 28 Jun 2021 Parliament page
Tax measures which have an environmental impact act alongside government’s wider environmental objectives. As these objectives have become more ambitious, the role of the tax system may become more important. HM Treasury’s 2020-21 review into funding the transition to a net zero greenhouse gas economy explicitly plans to “consider the … Read more
6 Recommendations
29 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Letter
1 Event
Activity timeline 4 events
2 Sep
2021
Report published
28 Apr
2021
Report published
16 Apr
2021
Correspondence
8 Mar
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
8 Mar 2021
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Environmental tax measures
Beth Russell · HM Treasury Jim Harra · HMRC Ruth Stanier · HM Revenue and Customs Sir Tom Scholar · HM Treasury
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental tax measures HC 937 28 Apr 2021 35 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
9 results
Clear
12 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
HM Treasury’s December 2020 interim report on net zero said that “the transition to net...
HM Treasury’s December 2020 interim report on net zero said that “the transition to net zero and consequent structural changes in the economy will also have implications for the UK’s public finances and fiscal sustainability. As some sectors grow and … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the committee's implicit recommendation to set out a timetable for the replacement of fuel duty revenues before the next Budget, stating it would pre-empt policy decisions.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
The transition to cleaner vehicles in the UK will reduce the demand for petrol and...
The transition to cleaner vehicles in the UK will reduce the demand for petrol and diesel and thus affect the amount of fuel duty raised. In November 2020, government announced its ambition to stop the sale of new cars that … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with setting a timetable before the next Budget for replacing fuel duty revenues, stating it would pre-empt policy decisions, although it acknowledges the need to consider implications for tax revenue from net zero.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
We asked what planning HM Treasury had undertaken to counteract the reduction in revenue from...
We asked what planning HM Treasury had undertaken to counteract the reduction in revenue from taxes on fossil fuels and greenhouse gases. It said that the government did not have a plan, but the reduction in revenue had been flagged … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the implied recommendation to set out a timetable for replacing fuel duty revenues before the next Budget, stating it would pre-empt ministerial policy decisions. It agrees on the need to consider revenue implications and set out a plan over time.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
The March 2021 Budget took place the week before our session with HM Treasury and...
The March 2021 Budget took place the week before our session with HM Treasury and HMRC on environmental tax measures. The Budget did not include any particular announcements on green taxes. It did however freeze fuel duty rates for the … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with setting a timetable for consulting on options for replacing declining fossil fuel revenues before the next Budget, stating it would pre-empt policy decisions, but acknowledges the need to plan for consultation in the future.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
The exchequer departments define ‘environmental taxes’ as those with explicit environmental objectives.40 There are currently...
The exchequer departments define ‘environmental taxes’ as those with explicit environmental objectives.40 There are currently four that meet this definition (paragraph 17).41 Other taxes can have environmental impacts. Indeed the 2021 Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity (commissioned by … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the recommendation to assess and publish the environmental impact of every tax change from Budget 2022, citing impracticality and cost, but affirms it already carefully considers environmental implications for relevant measures.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
The March 2021 Budget does not include any new tax measures with environmental objectives but...
The March 2021 Budget does not include any new tax measures with environmental objectives but it does include other tax measures that are likely to have an environmental impact.44 In March 2021 the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the implied recommendation to assess the environmental impact of every tax change, stating it would be impractical and not cost-effective. It clarifies that environmental implications are already considered for relevant measures, citing examples like red diesel and plastic packaging tax.
HM Treasury
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30 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
As we explain in Part One, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)...
As we explain in Part One, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has lead responsibility for all environmental policy areas, apart from climate change mitigation on which the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) leads. … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation for exchequer departments to describe tax impacts on other departments' environmental responsibilities and agree robust assessment approaches, arguing it could constrain ministerial decisions on publications, but states it will consider next steps for internal assessment.
HM Treasury
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31 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
The NAO found that some recent environmental strategies mentioned tax measures which have an impact...
The NAO found that some recent environmental strategies mentioned tax measures which have an impact on government’s environmental goals, and some of these strategies included a brief consideration of the impact of tax measures or their interaction with other policy … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation for exchequer departments to describe tax impacts on other departments' environmental responsibilities and agree robust assessment approaches, arguing it could constrain ministerial decisions on publications, but states it will consider next steps for internal assessment.
HM Treasury
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33 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Fifth Report - Environmental…
HMRC expressed the opinion that Landfill Tax “needs to be complemented by regulation and effective...
HMRC expressed the opinion that Landfill Tax “needs to be complemented by regulation and effective enforcement of that regulation” to deal with the negative 58 Q 74; C&AG’s Report, para 1.33 59 C&AG’s Report, para 3 60 C&AG, Reducing carbon … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation for exchequer departments to describe tax impacts on other departments' environmental responsibilities and agree robust assessment approaches, arguing it could constrain ministerial decisions on publications, but states it will consider next steps for internal assessment.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 34 of 6 classified
Accepted 8
Accepted in Part 5
Acknowledged 3
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 7
Rejected 9
Total 6 recs + 29 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
16 Apr 2021 Correspondence from Tom Scholar, Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury, re Public Accounts Committee – Session of 8 March 2021, 24 March 2021
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