The interest group SMVdanmark, which represents small and medium-sized enterprises, distances itself from giving large emitters special treatment in a new, green tax reform. An expert group presented three models for CO2 taxation on Tuesday. Two of them would tax companies differently, so that, for example, the cement company Aalborg Portland gets off cheaper and can receive support to capture CO2.
- It is neither fair nor justifiable if politicians leave the door ajar for some to get a discount and others not to. In that case, the result will be that an even bigger bill lands on the table of small businesses. Because when some get off cheaper, others will naturally have to pay more, and we should avoid that at all costs, writes CEO of SMVdanmark Jakob Brandt.
It has long been a mantra that a future tax should be uniform, so that it is the polluter who pays. But if you create a differentiated CO2 tax, that principle will be deviated from.
Not fair
In general, SME Denmark is extremely skeptical about giving large emitters such as Aalborg Portland and Nordic Sugar special conditions to keep them alive and in the country.
- It is also crucial that the common CO2 tax that the business community pays must be returned to the business community. Here too, there is a risk of discrimination between large and small businesses. Because in two of the models, part of the money is given as a subsidy for CO2 traps, which only the large emitters can use. It is not fair that the small horticulture company should pay more for Aalborg Portland to get a large CO2 trap on its chimney, writes Jakob Brandt.
The five largest emitters of CO2 in Denmark are expected to account for almost half of the industry's emissions in 2030.
- This means that the majority of the emissions covered in this report are not widely distributed, but instead concentrated in a smaller part of the economy, which only constitutes a limited part of Denmark's total production and employment, according to the expert group's report.
Ritzau
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