Energy Tax Reform Research Articles

A Study on Energy Tax Reform for Carbon Pricing Using an Input-Output Table for the Analysis of a Next-Generation Energy System

Carbon pricing, such as a carbon tax, is an invisible hand that leads to the construction of a sustainable low-carbon society, and precise analysis of the impact of carbon pricing on each sector of the economy is indispensable for its design. In this study, an equilibrium price model based on the 2015 input-output table was used for the analysis of next-generation energy systems (2015 IONGES) and the effect of the introduction of a carbon tax on the price of the industrial sector was assessed. Based on the existing energy-related tax system in Japan, the introduction of a carbon tax is regarded as an increase in the tax for global-warming countermeasures (TGWC) in the petroleum and coal tax (PCT). While existing energy-related taxes are designed to place a relatively heavy burden on the transportation sector, tax reform of the petroleum and coal tax has a relatively large effect on raising prices in energy-conversion and energy-intensive sectors. As a result, the reform of the energy-related tax may promote the introduction of energy-saving technology and decarbonization technology, both in the transportation sector and in a wider range of sectors, and may work to correct the unfairness of the tax burden between sectors.

Regional Aspects of a Climate and Energy Tax Reform in Norway—Exploring Double and Multiple Dividends

We investigate the potential for double or even multiple dividends arising from a climate and energy tax reform (CETR), using a regional computable general equilibrium model. Such dividends indicate if government revenues raised from energy-related environmental taxes and recycled back to households or industries through (regional) social security contributions will yield welfare gains larger than gross cost. Building on existing double dividend theory, we broaden the scope by considering both social and regional aspects of a CETR. We explore the use of household transfers and regional payroll taxes as recycling instruments and investigate to what extent wage formation on the labor market has an effect. For Norway, our results indicate that a CETR may conflict with sub-national policy goals under all assessed scenarios. In particular, this holds for income inequality. Although our analysis concerns the social, economic and environmental aims of a Norwegian policy, the approach can be generalized to, e.g., a European context.

Das Ende der Dieselsubvention: Verteilungseffekte einer CO2-basierten Energiesteuerreform

This study analyses the effects of a revenue and technology neutral energy tax reform with tax rates based on CO2 emissions for households in Germany. The reform leads to an abolition of the current diesel subsidy, raising the price per litre of diesel by 19 cents and reducing it for petrol by 12 cents. The authors illustrate the socioeconomic differences between winners and losers and identify a progressive distributional effect with a tax relief for the majority. Even though most families benefit, the share of losers is disproportionately high. Households with eco-friendlier means of transportation benefit.

전력계통 모의를 통한 에너지세제 개편의 전력가격 및 조세수입에 대한 영향 연구

전력계통 모의를 통한 에너지세제 개편의 전력가격 및 조세수입에 대한 영향 연구

Social Implications of Green Growth Policies from the Perspective of Energy Sector Reform and its Impact on Households

This paper reviews the literature on distributional effects of energy and carbon taxation with focus on microsimulation models. Most studies find that direct energy and carbon taxation tends to be regressive. Regressive effects occur mostly with respect to taxation of electricity or space heating. Taxation of transportation fuels show less regressive, neutral, or even progressive effects. Adequate revenue recycling often allows for neutralisation or full elimination of regressive effects so that energy and carbon tax reforms can be progressive. Some studies find evidence for the existence of a double dividend. There seems to be an efficiency-equity trade-off in revenue recycling, i.e. whether to foster growth or to assist low-income households. While a large number of studies on advanced economies are available, there clearly is a gap with regard to evidence for developing countries. Another gap relates to the lack of documentation on the challenges of incorporating macroeconomic models and long-term modelling perspectives in microsimulation. Both aspects can be of great importance with respect to the design of green growth policies. Thoughtful incorporation of social considerations, including aspects of poverty in modelling approaches could enhance the existing instruments of exante policy assessments since poverty is a tangible concept which is well-known, understandable, and openly observable for citizens and policy makers.

Safeguard Mechanism Research for Effective Implementation of Energy Tax Policy Reform

Energy tax policy has an irreplaceable role in promoting conventional energy conservation, sustainable use and promotion of new energy sources. But China's current energy taxes still has many problems and needs an energy tax reforms. The effective implementation of the energy tax policy reform must have relevant supporting mechanisms to ensure implementation of the policy. Thus we need analyze the behavioral characteristics and trade-offs involved in policy-related aspects to achieve the establishment of appropriate safeguards.

Benefits Analysis of Energy Tax Reform

Sustainable economic growth of a country needs support from energy industry. The limitation and environmental problems caused by energy makes the governments to re-examine their energy strategies. As an important tool for national macro-control, tax policy has an irreplaceable role on the promotion of conventional energy conservation, sustainable use and introduction of new energy sources. More and more theories and practices have proved that the energy tax is beneficial to conservation and utilization of energy. At present, China has yet to levy a special energy tax. There are many problems in energy taxes, so we have to reform our current energy taxes. Evaluation of the effect of the reforms can be judged in many ways. In this article, we will analyze it from a social welfare perspective, trying to build an optimization of the energy tax system in order to achieve social welfare maximization.

A revenue-neutral tax reform to increase demand for public transport services

Transportation, energy and environmental tax reforms represent an ongoing debate in contemporary policy. The main aim of this paper is to shed some light on this debate using micro-simulation tools to analyse consumer response and welfare effects of environmental policy consisting of an increment of the indirect taxes on fuels to finance the elimination of VAT on the public means of transport. In order to do so, we first estimate an Almost Ideal Demand System for 16 different groups of goods in the Spanish economy, for the purpose of evaluating expenditure and price elasticities. Using this information, we then micro-simulate the abolition of VAT on public transport services and a simultaneous increment on fuel taxes, so that total revenue remains unchanged. The welfare effects of this revenue-neutral tax reform are evaluated. The aim of this simulation is to define a public policy that increases public transportation availability and use in order to bring about decreases in pollution and congestion.

Energy-Tax Reform with Vertical Tax Externalities

The paper is a general equilibrium analysis of an energy-tax reform in a federation, measuring the welfare effects and the vertical tax externalities. Vertical tax externalities may arise when two government levels impose taxes on common tax bases. We show how the magnitude and sign of the vertical externality depend on the environmental goal, the tax-recycling scenario, the initial local and federal tax shares, and the size of the federation. Simulations illustrate the effects for a small European federation (e.g., Belgium) and a large federation (e.g., the U.S.).

Energy taxation in a small, open economy: Social efficiency gains versus industrial concerns

Welfare analyses of energy taxes typically show that systems with uniform rates perform better than differentiated systems, especially if revenue can be recycled by cutting taxes that are more distortionary. However, in practical policy, efficiency gains must be traded off against industrial concerns. Presumably, energy-dependent industries of small, open economies will suffer relatively more if taxed. This computable general equilibrium (CGE) study examines the social costs of compensating the energy-intensive export industries in Norway for their profit losses from imposing the same electricity tax on all industries. The costs are surprisingly modest. This is explained by the role of the Nordic electricity market, which is still limited enough to respond to national energy tax reforms. Thus, an electricity price reduction partly neutralizes the direct impact of the tax on profits. In addition, we examine the effects of different compensation schemes and find significantly lower compensation costs when the scheme is designed to release productivity gains.

Lessons from the polder: Energy tax design in The Netherlands from a climate change perspective

This paper evaluates energy tax reform in The Netherlands between 1988 and 2002 from a climate change perspective. In particular, the introduction of two (indirect) taxes on energy products is now responsible for a considerable amount of tax revenue from a green tax base. The paper discusses the energy tax base and rate structure from a modern Pigovian tax perspective and illustrates the practical difficulties involved in the indirect and non-uniform taxation of emissions. Also further improvements of the energy tax structure are discussed, such as a better targeting of the energy tax base and tax rate to fuel characteristics.

Energy Tax Reform with Vertical Tax Externalities

The paper is a general equilibrium analysis of an energy tax reform in a federation. It gives us a tool to measure the welfare effects and the vertical tax externalities of the tax reform. Vertical tax externalities may arise when two government levels impose taxes on common tax bases. We show how the magnitude and sign of the vertical externality depend on the environmental goal, the tax-recycling scenario, the initial local and federal tax shares, and the size of the federation. Simulations illustrate the effects for a small European federation (e.g. Belgium) and a large federation (e.g. US).

Lessons from the Polder: Is Dutch CO2-Taxation Optimal?

This paper evaluates energy tax reform in the Netherlands between 1988 and 2002 from a climate change perspective. A tax on fuels and the so-called regulatory energy tax since 1996 are examples of indirect and non-uniform taxation of emissions. The overall tax base and rate structure corroborates recent theoretical findings that heterogeneity in production processes and transaction costs may justify optimal departures from the Pigovian corrective tax rule. Surprisingly, the Dutch revenue-raising tax matches the (modified) Pigovian policy prescription rather well, whereas the regulatory energy tax mainly follows the revenue raising Ramsey logic. Further improvements of the energy tax structure are also discussed, such as targeting the energy tax base and linking the tax rate more precisely to fuel characteristics.

Reviewing tax system and its reform plan for the fuel market in South Korea

After a long period of government intervention in the energy market, the Korean government has realized that the costs of its intervention are greater than the benefit as the economy got more complicated and more integrated into the world economy. The objective of the energy tax reform is to establish a transparent set of taxing principles, in order to internalize externalities from energy consumption. The expected effects of the reform is to motivate energy conservation and to promote R&D on energy conservation technologies which will ultimately result in the strengthening of industrial competitiveness and the reduction of urban air pollution.

Energy task reform with excemptions for the energy-intensive export sector

The present paper applies a two-sector two-factor model to analyze a variety of energy tax reforms that discriminate in favor of the energy-intensive export sector. As a result, all scenarios with exemptions reduce energy less than the non-discriminating textbook version. In one scenario that exemplifies typical attributes of the tax reform in Sweden, even an increase in total energy use is theoretically possible. This is due to a structural adjustment resulting from a substitution of the energy-intensive for the labor-intensive commodity. Moreover, simulation results show that the factor substitution effect in the energy-intensive sector is crucial to the reduction of energy.

Energy Tax Reform with Exemptions for the Energy-intensive Export Sector

Energy Tax Reform with Exemptions for the Energy-intensive Export Sector

Energy wealth and tax reform in Russia and Kazakhstan

Resource-rich states throughout the developing world are prone to rent-seeking, excessive borrowing, wasteful spending, and unbalanced growth as well as states with weak institutions and authoritarian regimes. Are the five energy-rich Soviet successor states necessarily doomed to repeat this experience, often referred to as the “resource curse”? This paper advances and tests the hypothesis that Russia and Kazakhstan are more likely to avoid the “resource curse” than Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan because they privatized their energy sectors. Specifically, we find that privatization offers a potential path out of the “resource curse” when it involves a transfer of ownership to domestic actors. Although Kazakhstan initially appeared to be developing a viable tax regime in response to foreign investors, over the long term Kazakhstan’s tax regime has become increasingly volatile and dependent upon these foreign investors. In contrast, domestic oil companies are helping to foster the development of an increasingly viable tax regime in Russia.

Energy Tax Reform with Exemptions for the Energy-Intensive Export Sector

The present paper applies a theoretical two-sector three-factor model to analyze a variety of energy tax reforms with the common feature of at least partly exempting the energy-intensive export sector from the tax. As a result, all scenarios with exemptions reduce energy less than the non-discriminating textbook version of the energy tax. Moreover, in the two scenarios that exemplify typical attributes of the tax reforms in Germany and Denmark, an increase in total energy use is possible. This is due to a positive output effect resulting from a substitution of the energy-intensive for the labor-intensive commodity.

Environmental taxes on fuels and electricity — some experiences from the Nordic countries

In economic theory, environment-based energy taxation provides a direct financial incentive for environmentally sound economic behaviour in the energy field. In practice, only a few countries have implemented such taxes unilaterally in the 1990s. To be effective, environment-based energy taxes seem to need international implementation. The EU Commission has made three proposals in 1992, 1995 and 1997, but so far none of them has proceeded in the negotiations. In this article, we focus on implemented environmental taxes on fuels and electricity in the Nordic countries. Firstly, the idea of environment-based taxes as a part of sustainable energy policy is presented. Secondly, we review the impacts of this kind of taxes on the environment, energy production and consumption, income distribution, and competitiveness via estimates presented in the literal sources. Thirdly, we review comparative studies of environmental taxes on energy from a methodological perspective. And finally, we analyse the use of energy tax comparisons in political decision-making. A recent energy tax reform in Finland is used as an example.