Assessment of factors influencing environmental tax revenues

Abstract

Although environmental tax revenues account for a relatively small share in the GDP and total tax revenues, environmental taxes play an important role in economy by increasing the state budget and offering more possibilities to allocate more funds to environmental protection. Nonetheless, factors of environmental tax revenues have little been studied, and the available studies are rather fragmented. The analysed research problem is thus the following: what are the factors of environmental tax revenues and what influence they have on revenues from these taxes. Research aim: to assess the scope of influence of the identified factors influencing the environmental tax. revenues. Research objectives: 1) to identify the factors that influence variation in environmental tax revenues and develop their research methodology; 2) to assess the influence of factors of environmental tax revenues. The model for identification of factors of variation in environmental tax revenues in percent of GDP was developed. The following factors influencing the variation have been identified by using the model: GDP per capita, energy saving, sulphur oxide emissions, municipality waste generated, renewable energy production, regulatory quality, environmental protection, expenditure per capita. Assessment of influence of the activities in the EU countries has determined that in Lithuania, same In several other European countries, GDP per capita has the greatest influence on variation in environmental tax revenues. Considerable influence has also been demonstrated by the renewable energy production and S02 emission. Regulatory quality, environmental protection expenditure and energy saving do not have any statistically significant influence. In other EU countries, environmental protection expenditure and energy saving have particular influence on variation in environmental tax revenues.