Abolition of the Swiss VOC incentive tax is now only being examined
Published: Thursday, Dec 5th 2024, 13:50
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The Swiss parliament has refrained from demanding that the Federal Council abolish the incentive tax on volatile organic compounds (VOCs). They are now simply demanding that the national government examine the abolition.
On Thursday, the Council of States followed the National Council's line and tacitly approved a corresponding motion. Originally, the motion called for the Federal Council to submit a revision of the Environmental Protection Act to Parliament to abolish the VOC incentive tax.
The state government is now only required to show the effect of the incentive tax in a report. Parliament also wants to know whether there are alternatives to this levy "that have the same protective effect and can be implemented without placing an additional burden on the companies affected and on public budgets".
VOCs are contained in solvents that are found in paints, for example. They can lead to high levels of ozone pollution. The VOC incentive tax was introduced in 2000.
A back and forth
In March of this year, the National Council voted to remove the provisions on VOCs from the law as part of a revision of the Environmental Protection Act. This sparked protest from the left-wing Green Party. However, the Council of States did not follow the National Council, but demanded the abolition of the levy by way of a motion.
However, the National Council then weakened the motion in September.
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