|
Councils call for major Landfill Tax overhaul
In a report published today (July 2), the Association argues that "the main impact of the tax will be punitive i.e. take funds away from councils regardless of their current recycling performance or future plans".
In particular, it claims that the Landfill Tax Escalator, which will see local authorities charged £48 for each tonne of waste they landfill in 2010-11 compared to £32 in 2008-09, will have a major effect on both council services and taxpayers.
Concerns are riding particularly high after the European Parliament recently voted to introduce mandatory recycling rates of 50% by 2020 - which will put councils under even more pressure to boost their recycling rates (see letsrecycle.com story).
The report states that: "the length of time it will take to increase recycling further and put in place other 'landfill diversion' infrastructure (e.g. incineration/'energy from waste') - up to five to 10 years - means that councils will pay more, not less in landfill tax in the next three years."
Estimating the total cost of the tax over the next three years at £1.5 billion, or £70 per household, it explains that, to cover the cost, councils will "have to increase council tax or reduce the funding available for other services".
And, it also claims that, including Landfill Tax going back to government, the net funding provided to councils will reach a "real terms standstill, following by reductions in real funding: 0% in 2008-09, -0.2% in 2009-10 and -0.4% in 2010-11".
Measures
As a result the LGA has called for three major measures to be considered, including Government offering councils a five-year Landfill Tax "holiday" to allow them to build recycling facilities.
It also calls for no more increases in the Landfill Tax Escalator "without enough time for councils to respond to build recycling infrastructure," as well as repeating its call, originally made in March 2008, for Government to return the money raised via the levy to councils (see letsrecycle.com story).
Councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA's Environment Board, said: "Town halls have been hugely successful in boosting recycling, rates have risen four-fold in the last decade, so it's bemusing that they should be clobbered with spiralling amounts of taxation.
"The effect is that council's won't have the money to build the new recycling plants that they need to divert waste from landfill," he added. "The real danger is that the UK will fail to hit stringer EU recycling and landfill targets, which will not only be bad for the environment but could see the UK facing hundreds of millions of pounds in fines to Brussels."
"Unacceptable"
As well as labelling the Government's decision not to repay the Tax to councils 'unacceptable", Mr Bettison argued that "the tax will end up generating money for the Treasury without actually having any environmental impact. This bureaucratic and counter-productive merry-go-round must end.
"We see very little point in continuing to penalise councils that are already making huge strides to get the nation recycling more."
Related links
* LGA report
* LGA
He added: "Guarding against future hikes in rises, or giving councils a tax holiday, would give them the breathing space that town halls need to build the recycling facilities that are needed to divert more waste from landfill."
The LGA's report is the second document to be published this week that takes issue with the current approach to Landfill Tax, with environmental consultancy Eunomia calling for introduction of a tiered levy to reward more sustainable waste management technologies such as Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) (see letsrecycle.com story).
Source: letsrecycle.com
|
