16/01/2023 17:44
In 2021, environmental tax revenue in the EU returned to the level recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.
According to 2021 data, EU environmental tax revenue amounted to 325.8 billion euro (2.2% of the EU’s gross domestic product; GDP) compared with the 300.2 billion euro recorded in 2020.
The decrease recorded in 2020 was mainly due to a significant drop in energy tax revenues. However, energy tax revenues in 2021 returned to the levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Similar trends have been also noted in Cyprus, where environmental tax revenue amounted to 562.4 million euro in 2021, compared with 519.5 million in 2020. Also in this case, the decrease observed in 2020 had been caused by a significant drop in energy tax revenues.
EU environmental taxes accounted for 5.4% of the total revenue from taxes and social contributions in 2021, the same share recorded in 2020 but lower than the one recorded in the pre-COVID-19 year of 2019 (5.7%).
This share varied significantly across the EU Member States. Greece (9.5%), Bulgaria (9.1%), Latvia (8.9%) and Croatia (8.7%) recorded the largest shares in the EU, whereas Luxembourg (3.5%), Germany (4.2%), Sweden (4.4%), Spain (4.5%) and France (4.6%) recorded the smallest shares.
The share of environmental taxes in total revenue from taxes and social contributions was lower in 2021 than in 2019 in all the EU Member States except Poland (7.1% in 2019 compared with 7.7% in 2021) and Greece (9.2% compared with 9.5%).
In Cyprus this share was at 6.5% in 2021, having dropped both compared to 2019 (7.37%) as well as compared to 2020 (6.98%).