Fossil fuel subsidy
Almost half of fossil subsidies cannot be abolished quickly Much more than previously thought, although the new estimate has a number of nuances.Two weeks ago, three environmental organizations reached a total amount of 375 billion euros. An earlier inventory by the previous cabinet only came to 45 billion euros, but it left many regulations unfilled. Now outgoing minister Rob Jetten (D66, Energy and Climate) comes to an amount that is around ten times higher.New calculations by the cabinet show that the tax benefits for large companies that use fossil fuels add up to 464 billion euros
Abolishing fossil subsidies? It's not that simple
And there's another crazy thing about how tax benefits for large companies are calculated. Indeed, when estimating part of these benefits, people assume the much higher energy tax that citizens and small companies pay. Large energy consumers pay little, citizens pay a lot. When using oil, gas or coal more, relatively less tax often has to be paid.
These include large steel companies, inland navigation, greenhouses, coal plants and oil refineries. Airlines in the Netherlands, for example, do not pay tax on kerosene, which gives them more than 2 billion euros annually, according to the leaked documents.
