In the National Budget Speech delivered on 20 February 2019, it
was announced that National Treasury will publish a draft
Environmental Fiscal Reform Policy Paper in 2019 in an effort to
reform existing environmental taxes and broaden their coverage.
Government will also investigate a tax on "single-use"
plastics including straws, caps, beverage cups and lids, and
containers to curb their use and encourage recycling. The nature
and scope of these proposals are unknown at this stage.
As a guiding principle, any tax incentives or sanctions that are
to be introduced should be informed by applicable environmental
requirements and the results should achieve the desired
environmental objectives. International research on the
effectiveness of various environmental taxes demonstrates that
there can be a correlation between the applicable environmental
taxes and positive environmental outcomes.
