SINGAPORE: Singapore has launched a public consultation for its planned Carbon Pricing Bill, as the first step towards introducing a new carbon tax for large emitters of greenhouse gases.
In the Budget 2017 announced in February, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat confirmed plans to implement a carbon tax of between SGD10 (USD7.30) and SGD20 per tonne of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2019. The tax will apply to upstream emitters such as power stations, rather than electricity users, and revenue from the tax will be used to fund additional measures to reduce emissions in other industries.
The new tax will take the form of a fixed-price credits mechanism. Large emitters can purchase carbon credits from the National Environmental Agency (NEA) throughout the year, which they must surrender at the end of each year to pay a tax levied by the NEA based on the submission of an annual verifiable emissions report.
The tax will apply to facilities emitting more than 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, and will be due on September 30 each year from 2019. Taxable emitters must register by June 30, and submit a monitoring plan for approval by the NEA. Facilities whose emissions fall below 25,000 tonnes for three consecutive years can apply to deregister from the tax. Penalties will also be levied for non-compliance, including on fraudulent reporting, late payments, and tax evasion.
The six-week public consultation on the draft bill was opened by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) on October 31 and will close on December 8, 2017.
