Sustainability & ESG in Taxation

In December 2022, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). CBAM is one of the EU's climate actions, designed to prevent the offset of the EU's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

With extensive energy cost relief packages, national governments are trying to mitigate the dramatic effects on their economies and private households. For companies, there is a need for action on various fronts. These measures apply in Germany, Poland, and the UK, for example.

The new Spanish tax on non-reusable plastic packaging came into effect on 1 January 2023. Several documents published by the Spanish tax authorities, as well as a ministerial order published in December 2022, provide new guidelines about compliance with this tax.

Manufacturers and importers of products made of single-use plastic will contribute to the costs of municipal waste disposal in parks and streets in future through a new special levy. Until now, the general public has borne the costs of cleaning up and disposing of carelessly discarded waste. According to the Federal government’s plans, this situation is now about to change. 

In the wake of the energy crisis which caused the skyrocketing of fuel prices in Bulgaria the Bulgarian Parliament in its final hours before its probable adjournment and impending new elections adopted a number of tax measures aiming at reduction of consumer energy products prices.

Tiago Marreiros Moreira and Filipe de Vasconcelos Fernandes of Vieira de Almeida discuss the types of policy objectives aligned with green taxation in Portugal, and predict upcoming changes.

On 2 March 2022, 175 member states of the United Nations (UN) endorsed a resolution at the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi to create an intergovernmental negotiating committee to commence work on crafting a legally binding international agreement by the end of 2024 to tackle plastics waste and pollution.

The ELTIF is intended to promote long-term investments in the real European economy ('Europe 2020 strategy'). The main objective is to encourage investments in the public domain in order to stimulate job creation, infrastructure development, mobility projects, but also investments in certain unlisted companies or listed SMEs.

Ministerial Order no. 331-E/2021, of 31 December, was published, regulating the  contribution on single-use packaging made of plastic or aluminium purchased in ready-to-eat meals, provided for in article 320 of Law no. 75-B/2020, of 31 December, which approved the State Budget Law for 2021.

The UK plastic packaging tax will come into force on 1 April 2022. The new tax will apply to plastic packaging manufactured in or imported into the UK that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic. In this context, plastic packaging is defined as packaging that is predominantly made of plastic by weight.

23.5 % of total gross electricity generation in Germany comes from wind energy. This article explains the electricity tax obligations for onshore and offshore wind power plants.

A glance at the EU’s so-called “plastic tax” and the current implementation status of this tax in Germany.

The new Spanish Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils restricts the introduction of certain plastic products and establishes both a tax on single-use plastic to prevent waste generation and a tax on waste disposal and incineration.

In the  online seminar hosted by Deutsches Verpackunsinstitut (German Packaging Institute), WTS Germany experts and selected WTS Global experts will talk about the challenges that arise for companies in the course of introducing a tax on unrecycled packaging waste as of 1 January 2021.