Focus to fall on energy taxes

According to EU Tax Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs, taxation is a powerful and effective instrument that can help achieve the EU’s ambitious energy and climate change objectives at minimum costs. The Commissioner has also underlined his intention to concentrate on further developing energy taxation at EU level during the second half of his mandate.
Mr Kovacs wants to launch a discussion on possible ways forward in a green paper on market-based instruments being drafted under the leadership of Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. He says that market-based instruments such as taxation represent the most direct and transparent way to implement the polluter-pays principle. This discussion could lead to a legislative proposal as part of a revision of the 2003 Energy Tax Directive.