Background Notes

Methodology for allocating taxes to tax payers

The method used to allocate environment taxes to tax payers varies depending on the tax in question, using Supply-Use tables in some instances and more detailed sources where such are available.

Energy taxes

The largest component of energy taxes relates to taxes levied on fuel purchases. The overall environment taxes reported in the National Tax List is split according to fuel type excise data available from the Revenue Commissioners. Separately, Personal Consumption Expenditure is also available for each fuel type within the National Accounts. The household component of tax revenue associated with each fuel type is estimated by combining these two sources. The residual (i.e. non-household) component of tax revenue is then allocated across all NACE Rev. 2 sectors. Transport fuels are allocated according to NACE sector analysis of Business Energy Use statistics. For non-transport fuels and other non-fuel Energy taxes including the Carbon tax, Electricity tax and the National Oil Reserves Agency Levy, allocation of the respective tax to payee NACE Rev. 2 sector is accomplished using Supply-Use tables.

Transport taxes

Revenues from transport taxes are predominantly derived from two sources, Motor tax and Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT). The National Tax List splits motor tax into household and business components with the business portion further allocated to payee NACE Rev. 2 sector using Supply-Use. VRT is payable by consumers on purchase or private import of a motor vehicle. The rate of tax varies by type of vehicle and CO₂ emissions rating. The Supply-Use tables are used to allocate the tax revenues to tax payers with non-applicable sectors (e.g. the motor trade itself) excluded. 

Transport taxes also include an “Air travel tax” which was payable by all passengers travelling by air during the period 2009 to 2014. This revenue is allocated to business and private travel using data from the CSO’s Household Travel Survey. The remaining business travel portion is then allocated using the Supply-Use tables.

Pollution and Resource taxes

There are four taxes classified as Pollution or Resource taxes, namely a Landfill levy, a Plastic bag levy, a Fisheries levy and a Petroleum Act levy. Revenue raised from the landfill levy (a “per tonne” levy on waste disposed of via landfill) is allocated using the Supply-Use tables excluding not-applicable industries (e.g. intermediaries). The Plastic bag levy is levied on shoppers; accordingly, it is allocated entirely to households.

The Fisheries levy is a very small resource tax levied on fishing. The bulk of this tax is allocated to households (arising from rod-licences) with the residual allocated to NACE 03 (fishing sector).

The National Tax List excludes most of the Petroleum Act levy as a “resource rent”, with the amount remaining being paid by the mining and quarrying industries.

List of environment tax bases 

The manual, "Environment taxes - a statistical guide", published by Eurostat is the relevant source for defining what tax bases are to be considered within the remit of environment taxes. All taxes levied on these bases are thereafter considered to be environment type taxes regardless of the reason why the tax was originally introduced. The 2013 update of the manual lists the following environment tax bases:

Energy taxes (including fuel for transport)

— Energy products for transport purposes

Unleaded and Leaded Petrol, Diesel and other energy products for transport purposes (e.g. LPG, natural gas, kerosene or fuel oil)

— Energy products for stationary purposes

Light fuel oil, Heavy fuel oil, Natural gas, Coal, Coke, Biofuels, Electricity consumption and production, District heat consumption and production and other energy products for stationary use

— Greenhouse gases

Carbon content of fuels and emissions of greenhouse gases (including proceeds from emission permits recorded as taxes in the National Accounts)

Transport (excluding fuel for transport)

— Motor vehicles import or sale (one off taxes)

— Registration or use of motor vehicles, recurrent (e.g. yearly taxes)

— Road use (e.g. motorway taxes)

— Congestion charges and city tolls (if taxes in national accounts)

— Other means of transport (ships, airplanes, railways, etc.)

— Flights and flight tickets

— Vehicle insurance (excludes general insurance taxes) 

Pollution 

— Measured or estimated emissions to air 

Measured or estimated NOx emissions, measured or estimated SOx emissions and other measured or estimated emissions to air (excluding CO₂) 

— Ozone depleting substances (e.g. CFCs or halons) 

— Measured or estimated effluents to water 

Measured or estimated effluents of oxydisable matter (BOD, COD) and other measured or estimated effluents to water 

— Waste management 

Collection, treatment or disposal, and individual products (e.g. packaging, beverage containers, batteries, tyres, lubricants) 

— Noise (e.g. aircraft take-off and landings) 

Resources 

— Water abstraction 

— Harvesting of biological resources (e.g. timber, hunted and fished species) 

— Extraction of raw materials (e.g. minerals, oil and gas) 

— Landscape changes and cutting of trees 

— Energy products for transport purposes

Table Notes 

Table 1 presents the total environment taxes from 2011, broken down by category of environment tax and individual tax type. Tables 2 to 5 present the environment tax categories broken down by economic activity of the payee.

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