Isra-Mart srl:Japan prepares proposals for fossil fuel tax

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Japanese officials are expected to finalise plans for a carbon tax before the end of the year as the government aims to make good on its pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2020.

According to local media reports late last week, a team from the country's ruling Democratic Party submitted proposals for a new tax on fossil fuels on Friday.

The proposals will now be assessed by the government's tax panel and are expected to be finalised by mid-December.

The proposed tax could then be included in a climate bill that the government is preparing to bring forward early next year, which is also expected to contain plans for a national emissions trading scheme.

The reports said that the proposed tax would target initial users of fossil fuels and would eventually raise around $3bn (£1.87bn) a year.

They also suggested that despite Japan's looming debt the new tax could be hypothecated, with the money raised earmarked for investment in low carbon projects.

Any move to introduce a carbon tax is likely to prove highly controversial, particularly after Japanese business groups last year opposed plans for a national emissions trading scheme, which they warned would damage the economy by putting a price on carbon.

The news comes just days after the South Korean government announced plans for new legislation that could enable a national emissions trading scheme that would similarly impose a price on carbon for large emitters.