UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL TAXATION FOR AFRICA: LESSONS FROM THE ATAF DATABANK

UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL TAXATION FOR AFRICA: LESSONS FROM THE ATAF DATABANK

Environmental taxation plays a critical role in slowing climate change. It also plays a vital role in taxing behaviour that is harmful to the planet’s health. Meanwhile, it has been a source of revenue when pursuing the expansion of the tax base during the COVID-19 pandemic, which negatively impacted tax revenue. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2005), “an environmental tax is a tax whose tax base is a physical unit (or a proxy of it) that has a proven specific negative impact on the environment.” Such taxes are based on a simple principle — that those who pollute should pay — and are essential to halting climate change. 

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