Ülevaade Euroopa Liidu riikides läbi viidud rohelise maksureformi tulemustest

This report, prepared by the Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre for the Estonian Ministry of the Environment, examines the results of Ecological Tax Reforms (ETR) in selected European Union countries, specifically Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. It analyzes how shifting the tax burden from labour to consumption and resource use can simultaneously improve environmental quality, reduce unemployment, and increase economic competitiveness. The document provides detailed case studies of these four nations and offers specific policy recommendations for implementing a similar green tax reform in Estonia.

• Ecological Tax Reform (ETR) is based on the principle of shifting the tax burden from labour to the use of natural resources, aiming to address unemployment, environmental degradation, and economic inefficiency simultaneously.
• In the 1990s, labour taxes accounted for 50% of all tax income in Europe, while taxes from natural resource use generated only 10%. During this period, average unemployment levels were above 10%.
• Environmental taxes generally have a positive macroeconomic effect by boosting the economy and improving enterprise efficiency and competitiveness. In the long term, they reduce the tax burden on companies as businesses adopt more resource-efficient technologies.
• Germany's ecological tax reform, starting in 1999, aimed to encourage energy saving and renewable energy use while reducing social security contributions for employers and employees. By 2003, the reform generated 18.8 billion EUR in revenue, 90% of which was returned via reduced pension contributions.
• Denmark implemented a comprehensive ETR in 1993 that increased energy and waste taxes while reducing income tax. To maintain competitiveness, the government returned a significant portion of the revenue to industry and used differentiated tax rates based on energy intensity.
• The United Kingdom introduced the Climate Change Levy on April 1, 2001, targeting natural gas, coal, and electricity used by businesses, agriculture, and the public sector. Revenue was used to reduce payroll taxes (employers' national insurance contributions) by 0.5%.
• Sweden's long-term use of environmental taxes, including a CO2 tax introduced in 1991 and a NOx tax in 1993, has led to significant ecological gains, such as an 80% reduction in SO2 emissions compared to the 1980s and a substantial increase in biomass use for heating.
• A common challenge in implementing ETR is the resistance from energy-intensive industries fearing a loss of competitiveness. This is typically mitigated through gradual tax implementation, tax exemptions, or returning revenue to the affected sectors.
• The report recommends that Estonia eliminate subsidies for the energy sector, specifically by raising resource and pollution fees for oil-shale energy production to the same levels as other industries.
• For Estonia, the report suggests introducing an energy tax based on carbon content and restoring differentiated import taxes for vehicles based on their environmental impact.

APA

Lahtvee, V., Oja, A., & Poltimäe, H. (2005). Ülevaade Euroopa Liidu riikides läbi viidud rohelise maksureformi tulemustest. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/4376.pdf

Chicago

Lahtvee, Valdur, Ahto Oja, and Helen Poltimäe. Ülevaade Euroopa Liidu riikides läbi viidud rohelise maksureformi tulemustest. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2005. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/4376.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lahtvee |first1=Valdur |last2=Oja |first2=Ahto |last3=Poltimäe |first3=Helen |title=Ülevaade Euroopa Liidu riikides läbi viidud rohelise maksureformi tulemustest |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2005 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/4376.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lahtvee2005levaade, author = {Lahtvee, Valdur and Oja, Ahto and Poltimäe, Helen}, title = {{Ülevaade Euroopa Liidu riikides läbi viidud rohelise maksureformi tulemustest}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2005}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/4376.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }