The analysis of the efficiency of environmental taxes
2017
Abstract
Slovenia sits above-average in its success in the area of waste recycling, somewhere near average in the level of its economic development in terms of waste composting, and it accumulates excessive landfill waste. In consideration of its level of economic development Slovenia’s share of recycled waste is 30 percent higher, its share of waste composted is two percent higher, and its share of landfill waste is 12 percent higher than average. Slovenia’s theoretical proportion of waste incinerated is 22 percent.
Environmental taxes (taxes on energy, transport and taxes on pollution) account for 10.5% in total Slovenian tax revenues. This is much higher than would correspond to the economic development of the country. At the same time, the Slovenian landfill tax (11€ per ton of non-hazardous waste) is much lower than the estimate based on its economic development (19€ per ton of non-hazardous waste). In the event that Slovenia follows the OECD proposal to raise the level of this tax to 40€ per ton, in only a few years the amount of landfill waste is projected to decrease by three-quarters.
Keywords: externalities, taxes, environmental management
JEL: D62, H2, Q28
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