THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL TAXATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Introduction. Environmental taxation as an instrument of environmental policy should not only fill the state budget, but also encourage the taxpayer to adopt a positive and responsible attitude towards the environment. The funds raised should be used to promote environmental protection, government programmes for the development and import of resource-saving and environmentally friendly technologies, waste recycling and disposal, etc. Currently, the environmental tax in Ukraine does not fulfil any of its intended functions: compensatory, fiscal and incentive. The amount of revenues from environmental taxation remains insignificant and insufficient to finance the necessary environmental protection measures. The research conducted shows that the national system of environmental taxation is inefficient. The purpose of this article is to highlight the role of environmental taxation in promoting the rational use of natural resources and to suggest ways to improve environmental taxation in Ukraine. Methods. General scientific research methods were used to write the article: deduction (for the logical construction of the research presentation); synthesis and abstract-logical (to clarify the meanings of the categorical research tools); dialectics and analogies (to study the theoretical foundations of environmental taxation); induction and generalisation (to formulate the conclusions of the article). Results. The author proposes to improve the environmental taxation system by increasing the number of types of taxes, in particular by introducing a tax on products that have a negative impact on the environment and an annual tax on transport as one of the main factors of air pollution, as well as by increasing the rates of existing types of taxes to the European level. It is proposed that the proceeds of the environmental tax, which is levied on emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere from stationary sources of pollution and on discharges of pollutants directly into water (except for discharges into water located exclusively within one administrative-territorial unit), should be allocated as follows 25% - to the State Environmental Protection Fund, 75% - to the Regional Environmental Protection Fund. This distribution of environmental tax revenues is intended to ensure more efficient financing of environmental measures and projects aimed at reducing air and water pollution. Conclusion. The main ways to improve the current system of environmental taxation in Ukraine are: the introduction of a progressive scale of environmental taxes (the higher the volume of emissions and waste, the higher the tax rates); the provision of tax incentives for businesses that use resource-saving technologies; the introduction of a tax on products containing environmentally harmful substances (this tax exists in most European countries); the introduction of an environmental protection fee for businesses that pay environmental taxes.