Government waives revenue from carbon tax on sea travel

The government has given up the revenue generated by the carbon tax on sea travel in favour of the ports. Until now, 50% of the amount collected by this tax reverted to the Environmental Fund, but considering the dimension of the crisis that hit this sector, the government decided to change the rules and increase the share that belongs to the port authorities themselves.

In what was the first alteration to the decree that creates carbon taxes on air and sea travel, the executive revoked the 50% of revenue generated by the application of the carbon tax on sea travel that constituted the Environmental Fund’s own revenue. This tax contribution to the Environmental Fund exceeded €120,000 in 2021, a particularly penalising year for tourism activity, acknowledges the Executive in the decree that comes into force on Friday.

Another of the changes introduced is to increase from 25% to 75% the value of the tax in favour of the port authority with the power to collect it, i.e. the government transfers 50% of revenue from the Environmental Fund to ports. The aim is to boost “investments in green sectors”, and “provide port authorities with the economic and financial capacity to self-sustain the necessary investments for safety and sailing conditions and conducting regular air quality measurement campaigns, continuing, however, to compensate the municipalities where the terminals that receive passenger ships are located for the costs they incur with cleaning actions,” says the decree.

The remaining 25% of revenue generated by the carbon tax on maritime travel continues to revert to the municipalities where the ports are located, an amount that the port authority must transfer by the 8th day of the month following payment and which cannot be subject to attachment, retention or compensation.

The decree does not introduce any change to the carbon tax applied on air travel.