Saturday, March 02, 2013

OECD calls for better alignment of energy policy, public finances and environmental goals


Two new OECD reports provide wide-ranging evidence of how reforming subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels and rationalising fuel taxes can help countries boost finances and meet green objectives.

Taxing Energy Use provides the first systematic, comparative analysis of the structure and level of energy taxes in the 34 OECD member countries. It sets out how tax rates vary between different types of fuel and different uses of fuel for each country. The information is also summarised in graphical form.

The report calculates what statutory tax rates on these diverse fuels imply in terms of taxation per unit of energy and per unit of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It shows the wide variations in these effective tax rates across countries, and details how rates also vary widely within countries between different types of fuel (diesel, natural gas, coal, etc.), even when they are used for similar purposes.

See full Press Release: http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/oecdcallsforbetteralignmentofenergypolicypublicfinancesandenvironmentalgoals.htm