166 million euros collected from the plastic tax

The Tax Agency has collected 166.63 million euros for the tax on non-reusable plastic packaging since it came into force in January of this year and until 30 April, according to the latest official data published.

This tax affects the entire industry with a tax rate of 0.45 euros for each kilogram of non-reusable plastic that it manufactures or purchases from third parties. In its first month of operation it collected just 1 million euros, while in February it rose to 41 million euros, reaching 53.7 million euros in March and 70.4 million euros in April.

“The trend in tax collection is upwards. In any case, not enough time has elapsed so far to make a correct assessment of whether the amount of virgin plastic in packaging has been reduced or not,” said Faysal Assakale, a tax specialist at the innovation and taxation consultancy Ayming, who also works for the Packaging Innovation Cluster.

The expert pointed out that adaptation to this tax by packaging manufacturers “has been complicated”, especially because of the administrative burdens involved.

He also states that manufacturers “are noticing that customers are asking them for more recycled plastic in order to adapt to the tax and increase the amount of recycled plastic they use, although there is not enough recycled plastic on the market to meet all the demand, according to the manufacturers”.

Share this article