Nov. 26, 2007
Even as EU energy consumption continues to rise, statistics agency Eurostat calculated in June that EU environmental tax revenues have dropped to their lowest level in a decade. Based on 2005 figures, green tax comprises just 2.6 percent of bloc-wide GDP and 6.6 percent of total tax revenue. Both figures show a "slight decrease" from 2004, according to Eurostat.
While green taxes have remained more or less stable, lower energy taxes are to blame for the dip in revenue, European Commission officials explained, alleging that rising global energy prices have pressured EU governments to lower taxes accordingly.
