– It’s so unambitious that I’m almost speechless.
– The government is postponing with this proposal the CO2 tax, which all experts, green organizations – and both the right and left side of the Folketing – have agreed on, is the most important tool for achieving reductions, she says and refers to the goal of reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
The government’s proposal does not propose to introduce a general CO2 tax, which, among other things, the Climate Council wants. The proposal will be presented at a press conference on Monday.
Instead, the government will introduce a higher energy tax for business. But it does not ensure that the polluters pay for the green transition that a CO2 tax would provide, the Unity List believes.
Minister of Taxation Morten Bødskov (S) explains in Børsen that a uniform CO2 tax has been deselected because “there are large parts of the Danish business community where we have no idea what we should tax on the basis of”.
The support party SF also criticizes that there is no bid for a CO2 tax in the proposal.
– It’s a step in the right direction. But the proposal is still far from the goal that it is actually the polluter who pays, says climate rapporteur Signe Munk.
The Radicals also want a CO2 tax into the reform.
– Firstly, it is positive that a whip is given to the companies that emit, such as cement producers, and a carrot is given to the companies that want to invest in green.
– But – and this is a very big but – the crucial tool is missing, which is precisely a high uniform CO2 tax, which applies in 2030. We must include this in this agreement, says the party’s climate spokesman, Ruben Kidde.
DR Nyheder, which has seen the plot, writes that the business community, which is facing higher taxes, will in turn receive a discount on new investments for a total of DKK 4.5 billion.
The Government’s proposal means that a total of DKK 5.2 billion in relief is planned for the business community from 2021 to 2025. Taxes in the same years are set to increase by a total of DKK 700 million.
Mai Villadsen believes that these are “tax rebates that are not green”.
– For every krone that the companies with this proposal have to pay in tax, they get seven kroner in tax rebates, which they can spend on various purchases that do not have to be green.
– It’s completely crazy, she says.
SF’s Signe Munk also criticizes that part of the scheme. She believes that the compensations cannot be called green when “you can actually get a discount for investing in a new diesel tractor”.
Source: The Nordic Page