Environmental tax revenue totalled 57.2 billion euros in 2021. This is a slight increase of 0.2% on the previous year. Environmental taxes accounted for 7.5% of total cash tax revenue in 2021.
features | 2020 billion euros | 2021 billion euros | Percentage change on the previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental taxes | 57.1 | 57.2 | 0.2 |
| Energy tax | 37.6 | 37.1 | -1.4 |
| Electricity tax | 6.6 | 6.7 | 2.0 |
| Emission allowances | 3.1 | 3.3 | 5.7 |
| Motor vehicle tax | 9.5 | 9.5 | 0.2 |
| Aviation tax | 0.3 | 0.6 | 93.7 |
| Resources-related charges | 0.7 | 0.8 | 7.2 |
| Water withdrawal charge | 0.5 | 0.5 | -2.2 |
| Waste water charge | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Mining royalty | 0.1 | 0.1 | 119.2 |
| Transport-related charges | 7.4 | 7.6 | 2.7 |
| Truck toll | 7.4 | 7.6 | 2.7 |
| Surcharges included in electricity price | 27.6 | 25.9 | -6.3 |
| Renewable energy surcharge | 23.9 | 22.3 | -6.9 |
| Offshore grid surcharge | 1.6 | 1.4 | -9.4 |
| Electricity Grid Fee Charges Ordinance surcharge | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
| Combined Heat and Power Act surcharge | 0.9 | 0.9 | 7.1 |
| Interruptible loads Ordinance surcharge | 0.0 | 0.0 | -4.8 |
Energy tax (former mineral-oil tax) still accounts for the largest share (65%) of environmental cash tax. Payments for emission allowances are also treated as taxes in national accounting and environmental-economic accounting. As in the previous year, these payments again increased considerably year on year (5.7%).
After declining sharply due to the Covid-19 pandemic, aviation tax rose from 0.3 billion euros in 2020 to 0.6 billion euros in the year under review to half the pre-pandemic amount. The cash tax revenue of the Federation, Länder and municipalities shown here is recorded at the time of receipt. By contrast, it is shown on an accrual basis in national accounting and environmental-economic accounting. Accounting on an accrual basis means that taxes are recorded when a tax-related event takes place rather than when a tax payment is due or actually made.
Charges which increase the price of an environmentally harmful activity with regard to the use of resources accounted for 0.8 billion euros. These comprise the mining royalties charged for raw materials extraction, the water withdrawal charge and the waste water charge; the latter have to be paid for the withdrawal of water from and the discharge of water into the environment. The revenue from truck toll, a transport-related charge, amounted to 7.6 billion euros in 2021, which is a 2.7% increase from a year earlier.
The surcharges included in the electricity price such as the renewable energy (EEG) surcharge, the offshore grid surcharge, the surcharge under the Electricity Grid Fee Ordinance (Section 19 StromNEV), the Combined Heat and Power Act (KWKG) surcharge and the interruptible loads surcharge by definition are not included under environmental taxes as the revenue they produce does not go to the government budget. They totalled 25.9 billion euros in 2021 and thus decreased by 6.3% compared with the preceding year..
Sources:
German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt): German Auctioning of Emission Allowances, Annual Report 2021
Federal Network Agency, Monitoring Reports 2020 and 2021
Federal Office for Goods Transport
Länder budgets