Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Environmental tax revenues in the European Union reached €341.5 billion in 2023, compared to €334.6 billion in 2022, marking an increase of 2.1% (+€6.9 billion).
Despite this increase, the share of environmental taxes in the EU's GDP declined from 2.4% in 2010 to 2% in 2023. During the same period, environmental tax revenues as a percentage of total government revenue from taxes and social contributions declined from 6.3% to 5.1%.
This information is derived from data on environmental taxes by economic activity published Tuesday by Eurostat, the European Statistical Office in Brussels. Eurostat added that, across the EU, in 2023, companies generated the most environmental tax revenues, representing 49.4% of the total. Most of this contribution came from companies in the manufacturing, construction, mining, and utilities sectors (23.6%) and the services sector (25.8%). At the national level, corporations contributed, on average, half of total tax revenue in most EU countries. The highest shares were in the Czech Republic (81.2%), Estonia (80.3%), and Romania (79.1%), while the lowest were in Austria (33.6%), Luxembourg (34.9%), and Ireland (38.0%).
Households contributed 48.3% of total environmental tax revenue. In 15 EU countries, households paid more than 40% of total environmental tax revenue, ranging from 41.5% in Hungary to 60.3% in Ireland.
In only a few countries did non-residents contribute significantly to environmental tax revenue, with the highest share in Luxembourg (48.7%), well ahead of Malta (17.4%) and Austria (14.1%).