The Catalan government is preparing some tweaks to the tax on emissions from large ships to better adapt it to the reality of the port sector after the dialogue held in recent months with the sector and with key players such as the Port of Barcelona, endorse these changes.
This was explained to EFE by the president of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó, who considers “a lot has been done” to improve this new tax, while the sources of the Department of Economy of the Generalitat have not detailed what changes have been made. introduced, but they have assured EFE that the tax has generated many and very profound suggestions that have ended up “improving and adapting it to the reality of the port”.
For this reason, the Government is “finishing closing” together with the Department of Climate Action the technical aspects of the tax in order to approve it after the summer, they add. Salvadó has not revealed the changes that are being introduced either, but has pointed out that this tax has gone from having an initial “fiscal” approach to an “extrafiscal” one, in the sense that it serves as a “support tool for the sector” to help reduce their polluting emissions and to anticipate this decarbonization process.
Salvadó, who in February warned that this tax could cause the relocation of cruise ships, container ships or other large ships to go to other ports where they would not have to pay, consider now, after the latest versions of this new regulation, that the Catalan government You have improved your proposal.
In the version known up to now, the bill would improve a large ship to a vessel with a capacity greater than 5,000 tons and established a tax of 1 euro/Kg/NOx/PM, that is, 1,000 euros per ton of emission, which it would increase year on year until reaching 3.5 euros in 2026, the fourth year of application.
Although the Catalan President, Pere Aragonès, announced on June 28 that the tax would be approved in July, finally the government has not reached out to some of the Department of Economy of the Generalitat. They have specified that it is expected to be approved later of the summer holidays.
These sources have recorded that the objective of the tax -which initially expected to raise between 9.7 million, the first year of implementation, and 34 million euros, the fourth year in force- is to tax emissions, but that it has never had a collection purpose, but to help modify polluting behaviors.
