Spain plans to tax plastic production

Spain's cabinet approved a draft law introducing a new tax on plastic waste, among other environmental measures, Es Plasticos said
.

According to Spain's Ministry of Ecological Transition, the indirect levy will tax non-reusable plastic packaging manufactured, imported or acquired from other EU countries for use on the Spanish market
.

The ministry said the proposed tax was similar to those planned by other countries such as the UK and Italy
.
It pays 0.
45 euros per kilogram of plastic packaging, and according to 2017 figures, annual revenue is expected to be close to 724 million euros
.

The European Commission and international organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been pressing Spain for years to raise its green taxes and impose tougher penalties on the most polluting activities
.

On Tuesday, the ministry said that, based on 2017 figures, green tax revenue accounted for 1.
83 percent of Spain's gross domestic product (GDP), compared with the EU average of 2.
4 percent
.
"Spain has the fifth highest environmental revenue to GDP ratio in the entire EU,
" the ministry said in a press release
.

The Spanish government first began public consultations on green taxes in late February, when it discussed the possibility of a tax on single-use plastic packaging
.
Finally, the tax was incorporated into a broader draft law on waste and soil pollution
.
Following Cabinet approval, the draft will now start to be discussed in Parliament
.

EsPlastics is a plastics industry-wide trade group founded by ANAIP, recycling non-profit organization Cicloplast, plastics agency Aimplas Institute, and European trade group PlasticsEurope
.