CIOT launches its first green taxes study

The Chartered Institute of Taxation is inviting remarks on its inaugural study of environmental levies.

The body’s Green Tax Report 2009 was launched on Thursday night (7 May) as an online-only document. It is available to read and download from a dedicated micro-site, which is free-to-use for all visitors, who can leave comments at the foot of every page.

It features the work of tax professionals, journalists and academics, and it examines what is being done in the area of green taxes and the options available to the UK’s policymakers.

The report makes it clear that tax and other fiscal measures are expected to play an important role in tackling local and global concerns about the environment.

Areas of focus include the theory and practice of green levies, measures instigated by other developed countries, and compliance, avoidance and effectiveness of environmental taxes.

Nick Goulding took on green taxes as the theme of his one-year tenure as president of the CIOT, and the new report - which was produced in association with LexisNexis and edited by Taxation’s Mike Truman – marks the culmination of the institute’s attention to the subject.

Mr Goulding remarked upon the recent political changes that have been made towards tackling green issues.

‘With the election of Barack Obama as president, the US administration is now committed to negotiating a new climate change treaty and introducing a “cap and trade” system,’ he said.

‘The question then becomes in what way will tax be deployed in achieving these environmental goals? Will it be used creatively as agents to modify and change behaviour, or imposed in a blunt manner to penalise “bad” environmental practices, possibly using the revenue to reward the environmentally “good”?’

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