Environmental taxes in the Netherlands, 1990-2002

Changes in Regulatory Energy Tax

Revenue from the Regulatory Energy Tax (REB) has increased sharply. Since the introduction in 1996, the revenue from this tax has increased more than fourfold. The budgetted revenue for 2002 is more than EUR 2.4 billion.

Contribution of 'environmental taxes' to total green taxes

The introduction of the environmental taxes has resulted in an increase in the revenue from green taxes since 1991. The figures in this indicator provide a picture of the category 'environmental consumer tax' as a part of green taxes as a whole.

Note on environmental taxes

Environmental taxes are covered by the Environmental Taxes Act, which came into effect in 1995. An important aim of this act was to bring about a shift from tax on income to tax on environmentally-harmful activities. Taxes covered by the act include a tax on fuel consumption (that had already been in place since 1992), a tax on groundwater, a tax on waste, a regulatory energy tax (introduced in 1996 and also known as the 'ecotax') and a tax on tap water (introduced in 2000).
Green taxes are designed to bring about price increases in order to slow down activities that burden the environment. The revenue from these taxes is not specifically used to finance government environmental measures.

References

• Bruggen. C. van (2000). Milieuheffingen en -belastingen 1986-2000. Kwartaalbericht Milieustatistieken 2000/3. Statistics Netherlands, Voorburg/Heerlen.
• Financiën (1997). Belastingen in de 21e eeuw; een verkenning. Ministry of Finance, Memorandum to the Lower House No. 25810 nr. 2, The Hague.
• Financiën (2001). Miljoenennota 2002. Ministry of Finance, The Hague.
• VROM (2001). National Environmental Policy Plan 4. Working on sustainability: Where there's a will there's a world. Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, The Hague.

Relevant sections and indicators in the Environmental Data Compendium

• Guide to 'Financial instruments' section
• Green taxes in the Netherlands, 1985-2002
• Guide to 'Costs and financing environmental management' section

Relevant information outside of the Environmental Data Compendium

• More information about environmental taxes can be found on Statline (Statistics Netherlands).