Brendan Howlin
Question:72 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Finance the progress made by his Department in its consideration of the consultation papers on carbon taxes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30088/03]
Written Answers. - Tax Code.
As the Deputy will be aware, following my Budget Statement regarding carbon energy taxation in December 2002, I published a carbon energy tax consultation paper prepared by my Department on 31 July of this year. This consultation paper was designed to facilitate discussions on the introduction and design of the carbon energy tax while recognising that there are divergent views on the issue. Submissions in response to the paper were invited from interested parties to be received in this Department by 30 September 2003, but extra time has been given where requested by organisations to complete their submissions. To date, 116 submissions have been received by my Department in response to the carbon taxation consultation paper.
A decision on the precise details of a carbon energy tax will be informed through the consultation process currently under way. The current step in this process is the examination of submissions received in the Department. It is my intention to publish these papers on the Department of Finance website in the near future. All relevant issues will be taken into account in the consideration of the proposal.