Every year, the Swiss government imposes environmental taxes and duties on polluting substances. This is aimed at encouraging the sustainable use of fossil fuels and harmful gases. The government does not keep this money, but instead redistributes it to the general public and economy. This amount is deducted from everybody’s premium invoice. The easiest way to redistribute the environmental levy is via health insurance as everybody in Switzerland has basic health insurance.
Redistribution of the CO2 levy
Some of this money comes from the CO2 duty on fossil fuels, such as heating oil and natural gas. These sources of energy account for a significant proportion of harmful CO2 emissions in Switzerland. The money raised by these environmental taxes and duties is redistributed back to the general public and economy. The other part is based on the VOC (volatile organic compounds) incentive fee. This money is used, for example, to clean metals or paints and varnishes, which are also responsible for high ozone values during the summer.
Both are incentive taxes aimed at protecting the climate, our health and environment. The CO2 duty inflates the price of fossil fuels and acts as an incentive to reduce their use and instead increase the use of CO2-neutral energy sources such as wood. The VOC incentive tax is aimed at reducing the use of solvents and therefore lowering high ozone values. This will ultimately benefit our health.
No, they are redistributions. All of the VOC incentive tax is paid back to the general public. The CO2 levies go to the economy and the general public. A further part of the CO2 levy is used to make buildings more climate-friendly and promote sustainable technologies.
More information on this topic can be found at:
- https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/en/home/topics/climate/info-specialists/reduction-measures/co2-levy/redistribution.html
- www.bafu.admin.ch/voc (German, French, Italian only)
- www.dasgebaeudeprogramm.ch (German, French, Italian only)
- https://www.technologyfund.ch/