Statistics Denmark

National Accounts

Danmarks Statistik

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DK-2100 København Ø

Data presents environmental tax revenue (by tax category - energy, transport, pollution and resource taxes) broken down by economic activity (tax payer), using the NACE classification for production activities extended to cover taxes payable by households and non-residents.

The public revenue from green taxes provides a coherent description of the extent of the green taxes charged directly to industries and households. The tax base of green taxes consists of physical entities (or substitutes for them) that have a documented, specifically negative impact on the environment. The main purpose of green taxes in Denmark is to reduce pollution and resource consumption.

Environmental tax revenue is broken down by:
A. type of environmental tax,
B. sector/industry of tax payer

A. Classification according to type of environmental tax

For analytical purposes, the environmental taxes are divided into four categories:
1. energy taxes (including CO₂ taxes),
2. transport taxes,
3. pollution taxes,
4. resource taxes (excluding taxes on oil and gas extraction).

B. Environmental taxes by economic activity

Environmental tax revenues are allocated to the different tax payers:
• by economic activity according to the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE Rev.2)
• households as consumers
• non-residents
• not allocated (impossible to be allocated to one of the categories mentioned above)

Environmental taxes by economic activity data cover taxes payable by all sectors of the economy: producers (economic activities by NACE), households as consumers as well as non-residents. 

 The environmental tax statistics are compiled based on Eurostat’s 2013 'Environmental taxes - a statistical guide'. Environmental tax is defined as "A tax whose tax base is a physical unit (or a proxy of a physical unit) of something that has a proven, specific negative impact on the environment, and which is identified in ESA2010 as a tax".

Environmental tax statistics are part of European environmental economic accounts, which constitute satellite accounts to national accounts. Thus, environmental tax statistics follows ESA2010 definition of ‘taxes’. Consequently, only payments that are identified as taxes in the national accounts can be reported as environmental taxes whereas other types of payments to government are not excluded from the scope of the data collection. Compliance with the tax definition of the national accounts improves international comparability of the statistics, and is in line with the guidance, concepts and definitions of the System of environmental and economic accounting (SEEA).

Data refer to environmental taxes collected by the government and payable by the different economic agents.

The target population are all production sectors by NACE, households as consumers and non-residents.

The statistics cover Denmark. Greenland and The Faroe Islands are not included.

The statistics cover the years 1995-2020.

Not applicable.

Million National Currency (MNAC)

The data refer to the calendar years.

Statistics on environmental taxes are based on Regulation (EC) No. 691/2011 (Annex II) on European environmental economic accounts as amended by Regulation 538/2014, as well as legal acts in the area of national accounts. Data transmission became obligatory in September 2013. Before, Eurostat collected the data on a voluntary basis.

The basis for the national accounts tax aggregates is Table 9 "Detailed tax and social contribution receipts by type of tax or social contribution and receiving sub-sector including the list of taxes and social contributions according to national classification" of the ESA2010 transmission programme - Annex B of Regulation (EU) No. 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union. Moreover, Commission Regulation (EC) N° 995/2001 of 22 May 2001 implementing Council and European Parliament Regulation (EC) N° 2516/2000 of 10 July 2000 on the recording of taxes and social contributions sets the rules for the data sources, time of recording and comparable treatment of taxes and social contributions assessed but unlikely to be collected.

Not applicable.

Statistics Denmark's confidentiality policy.

Not relevant for these statistics.

The national publication date appears in the release calendar of Statistics Denmark. The date is confirmed in the weeks before.

The Release Calender can be accessed on Statistics Denmark's English website: Release Calender.

Statistics are always published at 8:00 a.m. at the day announced in the release calendar. No one outside of Statistics Denmark can access the statistics before they are published. Theme publications etc. may be published at other times of the day. The National Statistician can decide that such publications may be released before their official publication time, e.g. to the media and other stakeholders.

Annual statistics.

These statistics are published in a Danish press release.

These statistics are part of the Environmental-Economic Accounts.

These statistics are published in the StatBank under Green economy in the following tables:

MREG21: Environmentaly related taxes by environmental category

MRS1: Environmental taxes by industry and environmental category

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Data is delivered to Eurostat - Unit E2, Environmental Statistics and to OECD - Environmental Directorate.

Not applicable.

These statistics are compiled in compliance with the following Eurostat publication:

Environmental Taxes - A statistical guide

Not applicable.

There is no specific documentation of the quality management for this statistic.

Statistics Denmark's general documentation of quality management applies to this statistic. Results from the quality evaluation of products and selected processes are available in detail for each statistics and in summary reports for the Working Group on Quality.

Statistics Denmark follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF). A Working Group on Quality and a central quality assurance function have been established to continuously carry through control of products and processes.

Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.

The quality of the statistics is considered good. This assessment is based on a full coverage of accounts for all municipalities and regions, all ministries in the state, and all public corporations. The statistics have been produced for many years so editing and quality assurance procedures are well established. The statistics have a scale and level of detail which is in line with other countries such as Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. The accounts are established in accordance with international guidelines from Eurostat and the United Nations. The quality of the most detailed breakdown of taxes by industries is not as good as the totals, as some breakdowns are based on assumptions and estimates, including those estimates made in the production of supply use tables.

The figures in these statistics are relevant, among other things, in connection with political decisions in the environmental field, environmental economic analyses and international comparisons of the individual EU countries' environmental efforts. The most obvious users of the statistics are various ministries, agencies and organizations, as well as media and research institutions. Statistics Denmark receives information about the users' needs and satisfaction via the Contact Committee for Environmental Economic Accounts and Statistics.

The statistics are largely aimed at professionals and analysts. Professionals who use the statistics will often be employed in ministries such as the Ministry of the Environment and Food, the Ministry of Finance or in organizations such as Eurostat and the OECD, or in industry associations, NGOs, etc. The analysts will often sit in councils and boards - such as the Environmental Economic Council or the Climate Council.

A liaison group on environmental economic accounts and statistics holds at least one meeting per year. All or part of the committee's meetings is as seminar form where there may be several participants from the institutions represented on the committee. The following institutions and organizations have a representative on the committee: Statistics Denmark, Minister of Economic and Business Affairs, Finance, Climate, Energy and Building Department, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Interior, Energy Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency.

All published data meets the current requirements under EU legislation and guidelines in this area.

Not applicable.

The primary sources of uncertainty associated with this statistics include: potential mis-entries in the public accounts, the risk of overlooked accounting items, the risk of incorrectly included accounting items, the possibility of misclassification within CEPA and CReMA as well as uncertainty related to percentage estimates of the environmental share of different entries in the public accounts. Furthermore, the industry distribution of green taxes depends on a number of assumptions, which are also subject to uncertainty.

The accuracy of the figures for total revenues of different types of environmental taxes is high, as this is based on the State Accounts. Accuracy of the breakdown by industries is good but not as high as for the totals, as the sources are the supply and use tables, as well as energy and water accounts. These tables and accounts are generally reliable, but they are build from incomplete sources using also estimates and 'best guesses'. 

The statistics are based on the State Accounts, so sample error is not relevant.

Not applicable.

Other sources of uncertainty in the current statistics can often be attributed to different errors of measurement. In this context, the following errors deserve to be highlighted: misplacements of expenditure and revenue within the public accounts, misclassification within the two international classification systems CEPA and CReMA, as well as incorrectly included or omitted accounting items. Misplacements within the public accounts occur outside of Statistics Denmark and are therefore difficult to get the full overview of. However, the close cooperation between Statistics Denmark and accounting officers within the public sector contributes to the ongoing correction of such errors. Misclassifications, incorrect inclusions or omissions often depend on misinterpretations of the international classifications, as well as the risk of ignoring environmentally relevant account entries. Such errors are impossible to avoid completely. Efforts to reduce such errors, however, are ongoing.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The statistics is published with high timeliness and punctuality. The statistics is usually published without delay in relation to the scheduled date.

The statistics are published annually, the year after a given accounting period. The time lag of the first results is n+6 months.

The figures follow the auditing rhythm of the National Accounts and will not be final until three years after the end of the accounting period. The time lag for the final results is n+3 years.

Normally, the statistics are published without delay in relation to the scheduled date.

Not applicable.

The figures in these statistics are comparable to other statistics in several different ways. Through transmissions to Eurostat, the figures are made comparable with the other EU countries according to Regulation No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European environmental economic accounts. The figures are comparable over time, and finally the figures are comparable to other figures within the national accounting framework.

The figures in these statistics are submitted to Eurostat and are thus made available for comparison with corresponding statistics for the other EU countries.

The green taxes are transmitted via ETEA (Environmental Taxes by Economic Activity) and follows the Eurostat manual Environmental taxes - A statistical guide.

Not applicable.

The statistics date back to 1995 and have been prepared in accordance with the European System of National Accounts, ESA 2010. The overall methodological approach has been maintained for all years. In 2018, however, several adjustments have been made to percentage estimates, relocations of items between different environmental activities, as well as a minor revisions of accounting policies have been performed. In the transmission of 2018, an improved method for allocation of motor vehicle registration duties using investment matrices from the Danish national accounts is implemented. This method was already implemented for 2016 and onwards as part of the previous transmission This results in revisions for transport taxes 2008-2015. Other minor revisions in other taxes due to small corrections including some negative values. An improved distribution from the Danish Energy Accounts cause revisions in the distribution of some energy taxes 2017-2018. In the transmission of 2019 an improved distribution of the CO₂-emissionstax (emission permits) was implemented for the years 2013 and forward. The source for the new distribution is the energy account.

The green taxes have since 2013 been compiled in accordance with the new EU legislation in this area. In 2013, the time series back to 1995 was recalculated with new methods according to ESA 2010. The green taxes are thus comparable in an international perspective. It is pointed out that the statistics do not take price development into account, which has an impact on the comparability of the statistics over time.

1995-2020

The statistics make use of the European statistical system for economic statistics in the environmental field. The statistics will therefore be comparable to other European statistics on public environmental protection. Here, comparisons with module 05 within the COFOG classification are particularly relevant. Furthermore, data on green taxes are comparable to data for reported taxes in Public Finance. At an aggregate level, the Danish accounts are comparable to the European accounts drawn up for other EU countries.

The green taxes are comparable to other (public) tax and tax statistics.

Not applicable, as there are no sub annual publications of these statistics.

No signs of non-coherence have been observed.

The final accounts for the central government is collected directly from the Ministry of Finance. There is internal consistency between main paragraphs and sub-accounts. The final accounts data are collected directly from the systems in the municipalities and regions and received only from one source. There is internal consistency between the main accounting numbers and underlying functions. New taxes and changes in existing taxes are captured by our statistical experts who keep the data and information up to date with the current legislation, and follow the negotiations between the political parties on environmental policies.

The response-burden is nil, since the statistics are compiled on the basis of register information.

Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.

The differences between provisional and final years are typically small. National accounting revisions may bring data changes as long back as 3 years.

In the transmission of 2018, revisions have been made in the time series 2008-2019. The purpose is allocating the transport taxes, using investment matrices from the Danish national accounts to allocate the motor vehicle registration duty. At the same time, we have corrected other smaller inconsistencies in the time series for all taxes, including some negative values. The largest revisions are found in the transport taxes. In addition, an improved industry distribution of some energy taxes has been implemented for 2017-2019, using improved data from the new version of the Physical and monetary energy accounts for Denmark.

The detailed supply-use tables are used to allocate taxes to NACE activities. Also totals for some taxes have been revised as part of normal production (new data and data editing/quality assurance). The CO2 taxes included are as of 2019 reporting round the revenue from ‘carbon dioxide emissions tax’ and ‘duty on carbon dioxide’. The ‘carbon dioxide emissions tax’ fits the definition of a carbon tax and has therefore been included. The table has been updated so that the ‘carbon dioxide emissions tax’ is now included in all years from 2013, which is the first year where we have positive values for the revenue.

In the transmission of 2019 an improved distribution of the CO₂-emissionstax (emission permits) was implemented for the years 2013 and forward. The source for the new distribution is the energy account.

Data has been revised for 2013-2019 (as 2019 was reported early). Data in this submission for 2018-2020 are subject to revisions (not final).

The data sources for this statistics consist of accounts from state, municipalities, regions and public corporations that are coded for national accounts based on the manual of the European National Accounting System (ESA2010) and stored in the database DIOR (Database for Integrated Public Accounts). Based on thorough analyses, a list of criteria is drafted, which determines which account items are to be drawn from DIOR in order to compile the statistics. The selected account items are sorted and aggregated according to environmental purposes and categories, real-economic type and sector.

The source material for the statistics is the public finances, as they are stored, after national accounts coding, in the database DIOR (Database for Integrated Public Accounts). Using selected expenses and revenue from DIOR, tables are compiled to cover the main subject areas of these statistics. For a more detailed description of DIOR, see the statistical documentation for accounts for general government.

The payment of the environmentally related product taxes are generally allocated to industries and households etc. by using the detailed supply and use tables of the Danish national accounts. The supply and use tables include for each of approximately 3000 products information on the taxes less subsidies paid by industries and final demand categories in relation to their use of the specific product.

Data is collected annually.

Data for these statistics is collected from Statistics Denmark's database DIOR. DIOR systematizes and stores electronic extracts from the accounts of the state, municipalities and regions as well as annual accounts from public corporations. Based on analyses of the Finance Act, the central government accounts, the municipal and regional accounts and the branches of public corporations, a list is compiled, which determines the account items to be drawn from DIOR and assembled to the final tables of the statistics.

The tables in these statistics use register-based data - accounts that have been validated and audited prior to submission. In addition, data for these statistics have been validated for use in public finance statistics (see, for example, data validation in the documentation for the general government accounts). Data for the green taxes are validated and quality checked by comparing them against the collected taxes and tariffs from the Danish tax authorities, which is also stored in DIOR.

The processing of data for this statistics largely consists of sorting and aggregation of revenue by environmental purpose and category, real-economic type, branches and sub-sectors. On the basis of this categorisation and aggregation, the figures are presented in different environmental areas of action, according the real economic type as well as in subsectors of the public sector. The statement is consolidated within state, municipalities, regions and public corporations.

Not applicable.

National accounts supply-use tables (SUT) are only available for each year until n-2. For years n-1 and n the latest available SUTs are used for the distribution of taxes on sectors. Similarly, the latest available water accounts (n-2) and energy accounts (n-2) are used for the relevant taxes.

We use updated source data for NACE Rev. 2 in the years before 2008, thus we have used the same method for all years.

No corrections are made to data in these statistics.

Not applicable.