TAIPEI: Eric Lilun Chu, a deputy head of the Executive Yuan, said yesterday that if the government decides to begin levying "green taxes," including a carbon dioxide tax, they will be imposed gradually.

Speaking after a meeting on energy and environment taxes with the financial affairs authorities, Chu, who doubles as convener of the Executive Yuan's Tax Reform Commission, said the administration is likely to go ahead with the plan, as protecting the Earth is a common wish of all the people in Taiwan.

However, he went on, the amounts taxed will not be heavy at the beginning to avoid disturbing the economics of Taiwan households or the operations of the business and industrial sectors.

Chu declined to speculate on when exactly the green taxes will begin to be levied, saying that a relevant law will first need to be passed to serve as the legal basis for their implementation.

Meanwhile, financial affairs chief Lee Sush-der said at a Legislative Yuan interpellation session that the main goal of imposing such taxes is to increase the cost of goods for consumers in the hope that they will adjust their consumption behavior, which will in turn help cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Lee said the "green taxes" are expected to be levied in 2011 at the earliest.

People on scooters wait for the green light at an intersection in Taipei yesterday evening. The proposed "green taxes" are expected to affect Taiwan residents who rely on motorcycles on a daily basis. CNA

Also speaking at the session, economic affairs chief Shih Yen-shiang said that a version of the planned energy tax that has been drafted by his department is much more "lenient" than one drafted by the financial affairs authorities.

"Lower or more lenient rates for the energy tax have been recommended in a bid to reduce the effect on the international competitiveness of Taiwan industries and the consumption standards of the general consumer," Shih noted.

Meanwhile, deputy head of the financial affairs department Chang Sheng-ford said the energy tax and a carbon tax, which are part of the planned environment tax, will be the first to be levied, as consensus on them has already been reached by relevant government agencies.

"We expect that draft bills on the two taxation plans will be passed into law by the Legislative Yuan by next year, paving the way for their implementation in 2011," Chang said.

The energy tax will be imposed on gasoline, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel, liquefied natural gas, fuel oil and natural gas once an energy tax law has been passed by the legislature, he added.

For the environment tax, he said, the financial affairs authorities intend to push for the imposition of the carbon tax first, since controversy still exists regarding other articles included in the environment tax.

According to a tentative version drafted by the Tax Reform Commission, revenue from an energy tax could reach NT$164.7 billion ($5.09 billion) per year by the 10th year of its imposition, while that expected to be generated from a carbon tax will top NT$239 billion.

In addition to the new taxes, other non-taxation methods will also be pushed to save energy and cut carbon dioxide emissions, including measures to control emission volumes, Chang added.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 10/20/2009 page2)