Updates

Finance Act 2020

Jurisdiction: UK

Commencement: 22 July 2020

Summary

The Finance Acts 1996 to 2020 confirm and detail environmental taxes and duties as summarised below. This includes: 

  • landfill tax; 
  • climate change levy; 
  • vehicle excise duty; and 
  • carbon emissions tax. 

 The rates specified in this entry are from the Finance Act 2020 (c.14) and apply from 1st April 2020. 

Businesses are affected by the charges for waste disposal to landfill, energy use and carbon emissions. 

 

Duties

Vehicle Excise Duty

Rates payable: 

Light passenger vehicles registered before 1st April 2017 (vehicles other than higher rate diesel vehicles)  

CO2 emissions    Rate (£)   
Exceeding g/km    Not exceeding g/km    Reduced rate (£)    Standard rate (£)   
100    110    10    20   
110    120    20    30   
120    130    115    125   
130    140    140    150   
140    150    155    165   
150    165    195    205   
165    175    230    240   
175    185    255    265   
185    200    295    305 
200    225    320    330 
225    255    555    565 
255    –    570    580 

 

Light passenger vehicles registered on or after 1st April 2017 (vehicles other than higher rate diesel vehicles)  

CO2 emissions   Rate (£)  
Exceeding g/km   Not exceeding g/km   Reduced rate (£)   Standard rate (£)  
  50     10  
50   75   15   25  
75   90   100   110  
90   100   125   135  
100   110   145   155  
110   130   165   175  
130   150   205   215  
150   170   530   540  
170   190   860   870  
190   225   1295   1305  
225   255   1840   1850  
255   –   2165   2175 

 

Higher rate diesel vehicles  

CO2 emissions  
Exceeding g/km   Not exceeding g/km   Rate (£)  
  50   25 
50   75   110 
75   90   130  
90   100   150  
100   110   170  
110   130   210  
130   150   530  
150   170   855  
170   190   1280 
190   225   1815  
225   255   2135  
255   –   2135  

 

Landfill tax

Two different rates of landfill tax exist for the disposal of relevant waste made at authorised landfill sites in England and Northern Ireland. Rates for disposal made on or after 1st April 2020 are: 

  • Landfill tax standard rate£94.15 per tonne. 
  • Landfill tax reduced rate: £3.00 per tonne. 

Inert or inactive waste, e.g. rocks or soil, is subject to the reduced rate. 

From 1st April 2018, the landfill disposal tax replaced the UK landfill tax in Wales. For further information and rates, see The Landfill Disposal Tax (Tax Rates) (Wales) Regulations 2018. 

 For landfill tax rates in Scotland, see the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014 for further information. 

 

Climate change levy

Climate change levy rates that apply from 1st April 2020   

Taxable commodity supplied  Rate at which levy if supply is not a reduced-rate supply 
Electricity  £0.00811 per kilowatt hour 
Gas supplied by a gas utility or any gas supplied in a gaseous state that is of a kind supplied by a gas utility  £0.00406 per kilowatt hour 
Any petroleum gas, or other gaseous hydrocarbon, supplied in a liquid state  £0.02175 per kilogram 
Any other taxable commodity  £0.03174 per kilogram 

 

Climate change levy rates that apply from 1st April 2021  

Taxable commodity supplied   Rate at which levy if supply is not a reduced-rate supply  
Electricity   £0.00755 per kilowatt hour  
Gas supplied by a gas utility or any gas supplied in a gaseous state that is of a kind supplied by a gas utility   £0.00465 per kilowatt hour  
Any petroleum gas, or other gaseous hydrocarbon, supplied in a liquid state   £0.02175 per kilogram  
Any other taxable commodity   £0.03640 per kilogram 

 

Aggregate levy

Aggregate levy is a tax on sand, gravel and rock that has either been: 

  • dug from the ground; 
  • dredged from the sea in UK waters; or 
  • imported. 

If your business exploits aggregate in the UK (i.e. a quarry operator), you must tell HMRC how much aggregate you have produced or sold. 

Certain materials are excluded from the tax. A full list of exempted materials can be found here. 

The current levy is £2.00 per tonne for sand, gravel or rock. 

 

Link to full government text

 

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