New Europe Cutting Edge Programs

EU Tax Reform Campaign Launches
“Getting the Prices Right,” is a new 18-month campaign by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) to build broad support for environmental fiscal reform at both the EU and country levels. Its ambitious goals are :

* a minimum 10 percent revenue-neutral shift from taxing labor to taxing natural resource use by 2010;
* removal of all environmentally harmful subsidies by 2005;
* financial incentives for environmental protection; and
* stronger energy-efficiency policies.

The EEB is also pushing for approval of the long-controversial minimum EU energy tax rates proposal. If the EU fails to reach agreement on energy tax rates, EEB Secretary-General John Hontelez said that countries should go forward on their own to coordinate environmental taxation outside EU structures.

http://www.eeb.org
http://www.ecotax.info: goes live January 1, 2002
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OECD Releases U.S. Economic Survey, Urges Environmental Taxes
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last week released its annual U.S. Economic Survey which concluded that the U.S. should implement environmental taxes to encourage citizens to reduce gasoline use and other carbon-emitting fuels. The authors recommend using the revenues to offset social and environmental costs from vehicle-use, including road maintenance, noise and pollution abatement, and automobile accident response. The OECD suggests an increase of 40-cents-per-gallon as an appropriate tax in the U.S.

Source: Tax News Update: www.SustainableEconomy.org

EC Proposes to Double Packaging Recycling
Last week the European Commission proposed that EU countries double the proportion of packaging waste they recycle over the next five years. The new target is 55 – 70 percent for discarded packaging, up from the current minimum of 25 – 45 percent. Targets for specific materials would also be raised: 60 percent for glass (up from 15 percent); 55 percent for paper and board; 50 percent for metals and 20 percent for plastics. EU member states and the European Parliament must approve the proposed changes.