The summary of responses to the consultation, launched in 2021, was published alongside the Spring Budget 2023, which confirmed that landfill tax will rise in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation rate from 1 April 2024. The current RPI rate stands at 13.4% as of January, but is forecasted to fall to around 4% in 2024.
A rise of around 10% has been anticipated in some quarters, which could see the tax rise above £110.
The landfill tax rates for England and Northern Ireland from April 2023 were set in the 2021 budget. From April 2023 the tax will rise by 3.5% from the current standard rate of £98.60 to £102.10. The lower rate, which generally applies to inactive/inert material, will rise by just 10p from the current £3.15 to £3.25 from next month.
The Treasury delayed announcing the 2024/25 landfill tax rate last year (see letsrecycle.com story), but today said it will rise in line with RPI.
Review
To coincide with the budget the government has published the outcome of its consultation on the review of landfill tax.
However, no concrete policies were announced, with the Treasury saying it will “continue engagement with stakeholders before confirming any further steps”.
The Treasury did however concede that the government “believes that there is scope for much of the material currently eligible for the lower rate of landfill tax to move up the waste hierarchy and that the current rate of tax charged on this material does not provide sufficient incentive in many cases.”
The government is to review whether the current exemptions and discounts within the tax continue to support environmental objectives, alongside options to improve the administration of the tax.
It will also will consider the impact of any potential changes to the tax on landfill tax fraud, evasion and waste crime and the interaction of potential changes with upcoming environmental regulatory reforms designed to improve compliance and tackle waste crime.
The review was launched in 2021 (see letsrecycle.com story), when the Treasury said it will question stakeholders on features of the tax, such as the rate that applies to different materials and how exemptions and discounts can be claimed.
A total of 49 written responses were received. Government officials also directly engaged with representatives from industry trade bodies, landfill operators and businesses operating in the sector, environmental groups, the devolved administrations, and other interested parties to discuss the call for evidence in more detail.
Measures
Today’s budget from the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, also confirmed that the plastic packaging tax rate will raise in line with the Consumer Price Index from next month, meaning the charge for non-recycled content will now stand at just over £210 a tonne.
The government will also freeze the aggregates levy rate for 2023-24, as indicated at Autumn Budget 2021. The government will return to index-linking the aggregates levy rate, which will increase in line with RPI, from 1 April 2024.
Also included in the budget were plans to develop a grant scheme to fund costs of landfill tax to public bodies in England, “where such costs are acting as a determinative barrier to the remediation and redevelopment of contaminated land.”
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