Report for a sustainable chemicals tax
Since the legislative proposal was presented in 2016, IT&Telecom companies have been critical of the tax. It was clear that it would not meet its objectives and would be harmful to the industry. Therefore, IT&Telecom advised the government against introducing the tax.
In connection with the 2019 budget bill, the government presented a proposal to significantly increase the chemicals tax. In the consultation response to the government's memorandum, IT&Telecom emphasized that a higher tax burden would increase the risk of false substitution, i.e. that companies would choose not to use good chemicals in favor of poorer ones. In addition, there were no proposals to address a fundamental flaw in the design of the legislation: that it does not focus on the health and environmental properties of chemicals but on how the chemicals are produced.
IT&Telecom companies a constructive partner
In order to be an active and constructive party in the issue, IT&Telecom companies, together with other stakeholders, worked on producing a report in late 2018 and early 2019. The aim has been to present proposals on how the chemicals tax could be made more appropriate. The report presents, among other things, proposals to introduce a zero tax alternative and to tax chemicals based on their health and environmental properties.
A one-page English summary of the report can be read here.
In conclusion, IT&Telecom companies have consistently been critical of both the creation and the design of the chemical tax, and continue to strive to be a constructive force for society to be both sustainable and digitized.
All documents related to the IT&Telecom companies' collective position on the chemical tax are available for download on this page.