From 1 April 2024, the standard rate will rise to £103.70 per tonne and the lower rate £3.30 per tonne, “maintaining consistency with planned UK Landfill Tax increases”.
The Scottish Government said the rises will provide a stable tax environment, whilst addressing concerns over the potential for waste to be moved from or to Scotland should one part of the UK have a lower tax charge than another.
Landfill operators will remain able to contribute a maximum of 5.6% of their tax liability to the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund.
Scottish deputy first minister, Shona Robison, said: “At the heart of this budget is the social contract between the Scottish Government and the people of Scotland. A contract that ensures a progressive mix of universal and targeted entitlements.
“This is a Budget which binds the Government and the people of Scotland into a social contract that delivers for our nation and builds on the strong foundations provided by our partnership with the Scottish Green Party and the progressive policy programme set out in the Bute House Agreement.”
Tax
Introduced in April 2015 to replace the UK landfill tax, the Scottish landfill tax is a tax on the disposal of waste to landfill, charged by weight (see letsrecycle.com story).
It is charged based on two rates: a standard rate and a lower rate for “less‑polluting” materials.
The rates set for the Scottish landfill tax are intended to serve as a financial incentive to support a more circular economy.
Forecasts published alongside the budget estimate that the Scottish government expects to receive £74 million from the tax in 2023/24, before this falls to £58 million the following year down to just £16 million in 2028/29.
Scotland is to impose a ban on sending biodegradable waste to landfill in 2026. In August last year, Lorna Slater, Scotland’s then circular economy minister, did not rule out an increase in exports to landfill sites in England once the ban comes into force (see letsrecycle.com story).
Circular Economy
Elsewhere in the budget, the government said it would invest £49 million to “make progress in Scotland’s transition to a circular economy and programmes to promote re‑use of our resources and reduce consumption modernise recycling and decarbonise the disposal of waste”.
This includes delivery programmes for extended producer responsibility and digital waste tracking, as well as continuing to provide funding to “protect, restore and value nature, through our environmental regulators, to make sure we maintain a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for the people of Scotland”.
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