Environmental taxes (also called “green taxes” or “ecotaxes”) are economic or market-based instruments that are intended to include in prices the negative environmental costs of the production or use of goods.

They allow, on the one hand, to influence the behavior of consumers and producers, discouraging the consumption of products or activities that deteriorate the environment, and on the other hand, they increase governmental revenues, making it possible to allocate the resources obtained towards improvements in the environmental sector, according to the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (“SEMARNAT“).

The classification of environmental taxes includes ISAN (tax on new automobiles); car ownership tax; IEPS (excise tax on production and services) on gasoline and diesel; pesticides and carbon. The tenure tax was transferred to the Federal Entities in 2012 and many of them replaced it or abolished it definitively by 2013.

According to the General Law on Climate Change and the General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection, it is the responsibility of the Federal Entities to implement actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change, which is why we have recently witnessed new policies implemented in States such as Nuevo León and Querétaro that take as a basis the Mexican Official Standards that establish the maximum permissible limits of pollutants in various operations.

Should you require more information on this note, please contact us at info@rapa.mx.