Екологічне оподаткування в європейському союзі та Україні: тенденції й перспективи

Abstract

One of the key challenges for society is to ensure its sustainable development. Today humanity is at a turning point that requires a change in the vector of its existence by balancing economic, environmental, and social components. Environmental taxes are beginning to act not only as a source of income, but also as a lever of influence and a stimulating factor in changing the behavior of economic agents. The purpose of the study is to analyze the system of environmental taxation in Ukraine and the European Union and to identify areas for improving Ukraine's environmental policy. The following methods were used while writing the article: logical generalization, structural and functional analysis and comparison. The efficiency of environmental taxation is assessed through the prism of the fiscal function of taxes. The dynamics of environmental tax revenues in the EU countries and Ukraine during 2012-2021 is analyzed. The structure of environmental tax is studied. It is established that the environmental tax in Ukraine is aimed at controlling the level of pollution, while the EU countries focus on taxation of energy. The revenues from this tax and its share in the GDP structure of Ukraine are much lower than in Europe, which indicates the inefficiency of its fiscal function. The article considers the constraints to the development of environmental taxation in Ukraine. The incentives for sustainable development of the EU countries aimed at environmental protection are presented. Based on the experience of the European Union, the author proposes measures to improve environmental taxation in Ukraine which include: increasing the environmental tax while reducing the tax burden on wages; development of differentiated tax rates according to the amount of emissions and the region of pollution; creation of a special environmental fund for the accumulation and targeted and efficient distribution of revenues; introduction of a tax on the use and import of fertilizers and pesticides; introduction of accelerated depreciation and preferential credit. Keywords: sustainable development, ecologization, fiscal policy, environmental taxes.