Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2010. The Andalusian 10-cent tax on single-use plastic bags was due to take effect on 1 January 2011 at the time of writing; rules on plastic bags in Spain have changed since.
“The taxman thinks green.” That’s the headline of an article that appeared this week in the newspaper Ideal, and it isn’t far off the mark, since what they’re thinking about is the green of 100-euro notes. The new way to protect the environment is a new levy of 10 cents on every single-use plastic bag: an environmental measure, or a revenue-raising one that expands their “green” taxes with this new charge.
The measure comes from the Junta de Andalucía (Andalusia’s regional government), and other regions are expected to follow suit for the “good of the environment”. In principle it will take effect from 1 January 2011. This new tax, a first in Spain, joins four other environmental taxes, which include:
- Emissions of gases into the atmosphere.
- Discharges into coastal waters.
- Deposits of radioactive waste.
- Hazardous waste.
Supermarkets and shops all over Andalusia, which need to hand out plastic bags in their everyday sales, are very grateful to help the environment, since in the end this new measure will only cost them 45.4 million euros. They’ll be forced either to raise the price of their goods or to charge for the bag, as some large supermarkets already do, which in the end amounts to the same thing as raising prices.
This morning someone pointed out to me that the deeper we get into the “eye of the hurricane of the crisis”, the more our town councils and governments look out for the environment, our safety and the well-being of citizens, but always by taxing those in need.
Six years ago, if a vehicle was blocking your garage, you called a tow truck, which, with a bit of luck, turned up two hours later. Now they’re much more “considerate” towards us and you don’t need to call the tow truck, because they’re lying in wait, to the point that if you’re not careful they’ll take your vehicle from right outside the door of your own business without anyone having called them (I speak from experience).
I’m aware that the state, the Junta de Andalucía, the Community of Madrid, the central government and so on need revenue. All I’d ask is that they call things by their name: revenue raising.
Further reading
- The new speed camera from Spain’s traffic authority (DGT): revenue-raising technology
- Step outside and you’ll be fined: revenue raising by town councils
Featured image: Myotus, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
