The long-announced novelty introducing the tax on non-recycled plastic products is based on Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of the European Union and repealing Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom, coming into force January 1, 2021, and this decision lays down the rules for allocation of own Union resources in order to secure funding of the annual Union budget. The calculation method and other details are set out in Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/770 of 30 April 2021 on the calculation of the own resource based on plastic packaging waste that is not recycled, on the methods and procedure for making available that own resource, on the measures to meet cash requirements, and on certain aspects of the own resource based on gross national income, which was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 11 May, 2021, and which enters into force on 1 January, 2021.
The system of own resources of the Union must ensure adequate resources for the orderly development of the policies of the Union, subject to the need for strict budgetary discipline. The development of the system of own resources can and should also contribute, to the greatest extent possible, to the development of the policies of the Union. The economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis underlines the importance of ensuring that the Union has sufficient financial capacity in the event of economic shocks. The Union needs to provide itself with the means to attain its objectives. This is just one of the reasons for introducing a tax on non-recycled plastic products. No less important, of course, is the environmental reason.
As a first step, a new category of own resources should be introduced which will be based on the contribution of each Member State, calculated from the non-recycled waste from the plastic packaging products. In accordance with the European strategy in the sector of plastic products, the Union budget can contribute to the reduced pollution from plastic packaging waste which will serve as a stimulus for reduced disposable plastic products consumption, for recycling support and strengthening of the circular economy.
The new resource for incomes is based on the weight of the non-recycled plastic packaging waste which, according to the decision, will be charged by 0.80 EUR per 1 kilogram, or 800 EUR per 1 ton. This contribution should apply from 1 January 2021.
Slovakia has agreed to introduce a new tax on non-recycled plastic packaging products, on the basis of which it would pay into the budget of the European Union 381 millions EUR during 7 years. The Union wants to introduce a tax to fill a gap in its budget after Brexit and to increase its independence from the Member States. The tax on non-recycled plastic products would amount 54 millions EUR and it would be paid by the producers of plastic packaging products – resulting in increased contributions. Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic is a responsible authority.
According to the available information, the Slovak Republic decided in 2021 to pay approximately EUR 35 million as a tax on non-recycled packaging waste from the state budget and not to burden packaging manufacturers, as according to the Ministry of Finance it is a small tax and administrative costs could be higher than the total revenues from the newly introduced tax.
We still do not know how will the Slovak Republic proceed during the coming years and how we will meet our obligations resulting from the tax on non-recycled plastic products. Currently the interdepartmental comment procedure is under evaluation in the framework of the legislative process, and it should result in adoption of the Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of the European Union and repealing Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom.
