氣候變遷下我國能源稅制之整合與建構

Abstract

在國際社會熱切討論氣候變遷議題下，國內落實溫室氣體排放管制及減量已勢在必行。因此，重新檢視及評估能源政策有其必要性。我國雖然能源蘊藏不豐，但溫室氣體排放主要來源─化石能源─之需求量卻極為可觀，故於節約能源及減緩排碳之議題上，顯得相當重要。 能源與環境保護議題已非單一國家或部門能解決之問題，而係橫跨全球性之領域。使用化石能源所排放的溫室氣體，造成全球暖化並導致氣候變遷，進而釀成各地之鉅災與疾病。鑒於我國係屬高度依賴國外進口能源之國家，且能源結構以化石能源為主，現行之能源相關稅費又缺乏整體性規範，爰須儘速整併及改革能源稅制，始能推動節能減碳與環境保護政策，進而促使產業研發減碳技術、開發替代能源或綠能，進而逐漸推動能源密集產業轉型。 北歐國家領先全球，於20世紀初率先開徵能源稅，針對溫室氣體課徵稅負；後英國於2001年開徵氣候變遷捐(Climate Change Levy)，性質上屬狹義之能源稅，為全球少數能達成京都議定書減量目標之國家。故本研究擬對英國之氣候變遷捐進行探討，以提供我國於能源稅改上的參考。 英國氣候變遷捐之納稅義務人為供應能源者，當電力公司或能源公司將能源銷售予工業及商業部門時，須繳納氣候變遷捐。而課徵能源稅之目的，是希望藉由提高能源價格，將外部成本內部化，降低市場對能源之需求，進而減少溫室氣體之排放；是故，若企業自願進行溫室氣體排放減量之技術研發，並有效達成政府規範的減量目標，則英國政府給與氣候變遷捐80%之優惠，此制度稱為氣候變遷協議。因此，英國境內的大企業多選用氣候變遷協議，而小企業則多繳納全額的氣候變遷捐，運用不同之工具，達到同樣的溫室氣體減量效果。 而綜觀我國能源相關稅費，計有關稅、加值型及非加值型營業稅、貨物稅、空氣污染防制費、土壤及地下水污染整治費、石油基金、汽車燃料使用費七類。其中前三項為一般租稅，主管機關為財政部，採統籌統支方式運用；後四者多為規費性質，主管機關橫跨環保署、交通部及經濟部，財政收入方式採專款專用，此運用方式，除非經由嚴格之監督控管，否則不易達到有效率之支出。 英國自導入氣候變遷捐相關制度以來，溫室氣體減量之成效顯著，我國不妨參照英國之架構設計，將目前繁雜之能源稅費整併為能源稅。據此，本文建議將性質雷同之稅費整合為一，貨物稅、固定污染源之空氣污染防制費、石油基金此三者本質上屬於能源稅，故整併為能源稅；而汽車燃料使用費、移動污染源之空氣污染防制費二者，均是透過能源使用量之計算，來課徵稅負，故二者整併為交通燃料稅。由此，則我國的能源稅制下可分為能源稅及交通燃料稅，各自在不同的溫室氣體排放領域進行價格誘因之管制。 而近年來政府及民間不斷研議之能源稅，或可建立於整併後之能源稅制上，透過經濟模型及實證研究之推演，計算一妥適之稅率架構，達到節能減碳之具體目標。

Due to international community’s hot discussion of climate change issues, the domestic implementation of greenhouse gas emission control and reduction is imperative. Therefore, to review and evaluate the energy policy is a necessity. Although Taiwan is not in rich of energy reserves, the demand of fossil energy, the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, is extremely impressive. This is why the issues of energy conservation and carbon emission reduction are quite important. The energy and environmental protection are not issues for single country or department but global. The greenhouse gas produced by use of fossil energy which causes global warming and result in climate changes, and even lead to catastrophe and disease around. Our country is highly dependent on imported energy, the energy structure is mainly fossil energy, and, the current energy-related tax policy is in short of overall rules. It is urgent to have consolidation and reform of energy taxation, so the environment policy of energy saving and carbon reduction can be promoted. To urge industries doing research and development of carbon reduction technologies, developing alternative energy or green energy, and then gradually make energy-intensive industries transform. Nordic countries took the lead in introduction of energy taxes in the early 20th century. Taxes levied against the greenhouse gases. In 2001, the United Kingdom is a country in few numbers that can reach the global reduction target of the Kyodo Protocol, levy climate change tax, which is the narrow sense of energy tax. The purpose of this study is to discuss the tax of climate change in the UK, and provide a reference for the reform of Taiwan’s energy tax. The taxpayer for UK Climate Change Levy is energy supplier. When the power companies or energy companies sell energy to industrial and commercial departments, they need to pay Climate Change Levy. The purpose of imposing an energy tax is in the hope that by raising energy prices to make external costs become internal’s, lower market demand for energy, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, if the industry was voluntary to do research and development on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and effectively achieve government’s target, the British Government will give preferential tax of 80%. This system is called climate change agreement. Therefore, many large enterprises in the UK selected climate change agreement, and small companies choose to pay full amount of the Climate Change Levy. Go different ways to achieve the same effect of greenhouse gas reduction. By a comprehensive survey of Taiwan’s seven energy-related taxes, which include customs duties, value-added and non value-added sales tax, excise duties, air pollution control fees, soil and groundwater pollution remediation fees, oil funds and motor fuel user fees. The first three are general taxes. The competent authority of it is the Treasury. Co-ordination and expenditure is adopted; the last four are nature of regulation fees. The competent authorities include the EPA, Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Economic Affairs. The earmarking revenue is adopted. This operation mode is uneasy to achieve an efficient spending unless it goes through strict supervision and control. Since the introduction of relevant systems of climate change tax, UK has a significant effect of greenhouse gas reduction. Taiwan might refer to UK’s tax structure as well and integrate present complex of energy taxes into energy tax. Accordingly, this paper proposes to integrate similar taxes into one. Excise, stationary sources of air pollution control fee and the Petroleum Fund are essentially within energy tax, so they are combined as energy tax. The motor fuel user fees and mobile sources of air pollution control fee are both levied taxes through the calculation of energy usage, so the two merged into transportation fuel taxes. As a result, the energy tax system in Taiwan can be divided into energy tax and transportation fuel tax, which are controlled by price incentives in different greenhouse gas emission areas. As for the energy tax which is constantly deliberated by government and civil in recent years, it might be developed in the combined tax system. Calculating a proper framework of tax rate through economic model and empirical study to achieve a specific target of energy saving and carbon reduction.