1.1. Contact organisation
Federal Planning Bureau
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Sectoral and environmental accounts and analyses
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Belliardstraat 14-18
1040 Brussels
Belgium
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
30 April 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
30 April 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
30 April 2025
3.1. Data description
Data presents environmental tax revenue (by tax category, i.e. energy (including CO2 taxes), transport, pollution and resource taxes) broken down by economic activity (using the NACE Rev.2 classification on the level of A*64 activities, extended to cover taxes payable by households and non-residents).
3.2. Classification system
Environmental tax revenue is broken down by:
A. type of environmental tax
B. tax payer (industries according to NACE Rev.2 A*64, households and non-residents)
A. Classification according to type of environmental tax
For analytical purposes, the environmental taxes are divided into four categories:
- energy taxes (including CO2 taxes)
- transport taxes
- pollution taxes
- resource taxes (excluding taxes on oil and gas extraction)
B. Environmental taxes broken down by tax payer
Environmental tax revenues are allocated to the different tax payers:
- by economic acitivity, according to the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, i.e. NACE Rev.2, on the A*64-level)
- households as consumers
- non-residents
- not allocated (impossible to be allocated to one of the categories mentioned above)
3.3. Coverage - sector
Environmental taxes by economic activity data cover all sectors of the economy: producers (economic activities by NACE), households as consumers as well as non-residents.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The environmental tax statistics are compiled based on Eurostat’s 2024 'Environmental taxes - A statistical guide, 2024 Edition'. An 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 ESA 95 as a tax".
Environmental tax statistics are part of European environmental economic accounts, which constitute satellite accounts to the national accounts. Hence, environmental tax statistics follow the 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, but are reported as non-tax items in a separate row in the tables. 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).
3.5. Statistical unit
Data refer to environmental taxes collected by the government and payable by the different economic agents (industries according to NACE Rev.2 A*64, households, non-residents).
3.6. Statistical population
The target population consists of all economic agents paying environmental taxes to the Belgian government.
3.7. Reference area
Belgium
3.8. Coverage - Time
2008-2023
Remark: There exists a 1997-2008 series, according to NACE Rev.1.1 though. It cannot be linked to the 2008-2023 series, because the latter contains data classified according to NACE Rev.2.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Million National Currency (MNAC)
All series are measured at current prices.
The data refer to calendar years.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
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 from September 2013 onwards. Before then, 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.
The Federal Planning Bureau of Belgium has been entrusted with the analysis of sustainable development policies and the construction of satellite accounts to the national accounts by the Belgian government, by means of the law of 21 December 1994 on social and diverse provisions.
Annexes:
Law determining the tasks of the Federal Planning Bureau (in French)
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Law of 4 July 1962 on public statistics.
There are no dataset specific rules.
Annexes:
Law of 4 July 1962 on public statistics (in French)
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
ETEA does not contain any individual data (totals are distributed on the basis of distribution keys), so there is no need for any data treatment.
8.1. Release calendar
There is no publicly available release calendar. ETEA data are released at the end of April on a yearly basis after their approval by the scientific committee of the Belgian Institute for National Accounts and their delivery to Eurostat.
8.2. Release calendar access
Non-existent
8.3. Release policy - user access
ETEA data are publicly available on the website of the Federal Planning Bureau (FPB) of Belgium. There is no specific information to the public (e.g. press release) about the publication of the data.
On a yearly basis (end of April).
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Non-existent
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Federal Planning Bureau, Institute for National Accounts
Environmental Taxes by Economic Activity, 2008-2023
Published in April 2025, accessible in both Dutch and French
Annexes:
report on ETEA (2025)
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
ETEA database 2008-2023 (in Excel)
Annexes:
ETEA database 2008-2023 (2025)
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Not applicable.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
The ETEA data are also disseminated by Eurostat by means of the Eurobase website.
Annexes:
Environmental taxes by economic activity (ETEA)
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not applicable.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
The first publication on the 2013 ETEA contains a complete methodological description (French and Dutch). Methodological changes are presented in the publications in subsequent years.
The complete up-to-date methodology is available (in English) in G. Trachez, G. Vandille and J. Watelle, Environmental Taxes by Economic Activity - Methodological notes, September 2021 (see file in Annex)
Annexes:
First publication on the 2013 ETEA. Includes a complete methodological description.
Methodology BE ETEA 2021
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
Not applicable.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
There is no document describing the measures to assure the quality of ETEA data apart from the Eurostat quality report, the contents of which are included in this Metadata file.
11.1. Quality assurance
The ETEA standard tables contain in-built plausibility checks, while Eurostat provides a validation procedure.
The data are also validated by the scientific committee of the Institute for National Accounts.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
The methodology to compile the ETEA data is finetuned whenever new data sources are discovered.
The quality of the allocation of the taxes to the economic agents paying them, depends to a high extent on the quality of the national accounts supply-and-use tables.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Not applicable.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not applicable.
12.3. Completeness
All data required by Regulation 691/2011 are available.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
Not applicable.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Currently, we are unable to allocate the excise duties on mineral oil to non-residents as we do not have any data on fuel purchased by non-residents in Belgium. Consequently, the energy taxes paid by residents (non-residents) are slightly overestimated (underestimated). We have tried to allocate the excise duties on mineral oil to the non-residents based on road use data but as this does not indicate whether the non-residents actually purchased fuel on Belgian territory we decided not to apply this method.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
The quality of the allocation of the data to the economic agents paying the environmental taxes depends on the quality of the national accounts supply-and-use tables. The errors in these tables directly affect the precision of the ETEA. Since environmental taxes are mostly linked to physical units, while the supply-and-use tables are expressed in monetary terms, the detailed tax studies, which form the backbone of the Belgian ETEA, have to make use of average prices in order to estimate the physical units used by different economic agents. The estimated value for the physical units will thus become less reliable as price variability increases.
13.3.1. Coverage error
Not applicable.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not applicable.
13.3.2. Measurement error
Not applicable.
13.3.3. Non response error
Not applicable.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.4. Processing error
Taxes equal to excise rights paid by corporations on their ownership of diesel cars are distributed across industries on the basis of vehicle park data on the ownership of cars without a distinction of fuel types. In the past almost all cars owned by corporations were diesel cars, but as companies "green" their car fleet and start using more gasoline driven and electric vehicles, this distribution key is flawed.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
ETEA data take about a month to produce.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
First estimates for reference year (n) are available at n+16.
As resources are lacking, it is impossible to deliver two sets of estimates (early and final).
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
Final results for year (n) are available at n+16.
It is impossible to determine when all source data are available for the final results of reference year (n). These results will in fact not be final, but will need to be revised in the following years, since one of the basic sources, the supply-and-use tables, are available only at n+36. Furthermore, the final results for the tax data themselves for reference year (n) are only available at the moment when the ETEA already have to be delivered to Eurostat.
14.2. Punctuality
Belgium transmitted the ETEA questionnaire to Eurostat on 30 April 2025. The data were due on 30 April 2025.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Not applicable.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
All environmental taxes described in the Eurostat manual are included. None where added.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
There are no breaks in the series. Changes in methodology are applied to the entire series.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
The first reference year for which data are available is 2012 (assuming 'reference year' is defined as the final year of an ETEA dataset covering 5 years to be delivered to Eurostat, according to Regulation 691/2011). In that case, 12 reference years are available (2012 to 2023).
15.2.2. Comparability - over time detailed
Not applicable.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Yes, the coherence between the NTL and the ETEA data has been discussed with national accounts compilers.
The national accounts' NTL currently does not distinguish resource taxes from pollution taxes.
However, on the basis of regional tax data, resource taxes can be distinguished from pollution taxes.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
No subannual ETEA data exist.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
In the NTL, no distinction is made between pollution taxes and resource taxes, while for the ETEA these two types of environmental taxes are seperated.
We made use of the Regional Tax List (RTL) to distinguish resource from pollution taxes.
Since 2022, a discrepancy between the total enery taxes reported in the ETEA and the NTL is observed, due to the inclusion of the tax on surprofits of electricity production in the latter.
Profit taxes are not included in the ETEA (see Eurostat’s 2024 'Environmental taxes - A statistical guide, 2024 Edition', Section 2.2.8).
15.3.2.1. Coherence - National Accounts detailed
| Tax type |
Discrepancy |
Size of discrepancy |
Reasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit tax |
2022: 481.2 MNAC 2023: 716.3 MNAC |
2022: 4.05 % of total environmental taxes 2023: 5.47 % of total environmental taxes |
Profit taxes are not included in ETEA. |
15.4. Coherence - internal
No detailed SUT-linked tax study exists for 2008 and 2009. For these years the detailed tax study for 2010 was combined with the 2008 and 2009 SUTs.
The same problem exists for 2022 and 2023, for which the 2021 detailed tax study was used. Once the detailed tax studies for 2022 and 2023 will be produced, they will be used.
Compilation of ETEA requires 0.1 FTE.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Data are revised every year, when the ETEA are compiled. Methodological changes are applied to the entire time series. Changes in the NTL are incorporated. If new SUT data are available, they are incorporated as well.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Data can be revised each year as new data sources become available or existing data has been updated. Changes in methodology also occur from time to time.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Yes, data have been revised due to the availability of updated data on water statistics, transport data (vehicle park data and vehicle registration service data) and data on emission permits, and due to the availability of a new use table.
17.2.2. Status of data
The data can be considered as almost final, but there can always be some changes in the data for the final years reported in the NTL, while SUTs for the final years also become available only 1 or 2 years after the first delivery of data for a particular reference year.
18.1. Source data
Totals to be distributed are taken from the National Tax List (NTL). For taxes on water, regional tax data is used.
Distribution across the economic agents is to a high extent determined by the detailed tax studies developed for the national accounts Use table.
18.1.1. Source data detailed
|
|
Tax Name/ESA Code |
Source data for compiling tax revenue by payer |
|---|---|---|
| Energy taxes |
Excise duties on mineral oil / D2122CC01+D214AC01 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
| Contribution for the surveillance on domestic fuel oil / D2122CC13+D214AC13 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Contribution on oil products for heating / D2122CC14+D214AC14 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Contribution on energy / D2122CC15+D214AC15 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Contribution of the oil industry / D2122CC19 |
direct from NTL |
|
| Federal contribution on electricity and natural gas / D214AC16 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Contribution for FAPETRO / D214AC28 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Contribution for APETRA / D214AC29 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Flemish charge on supply points of electricity / D214A |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Emission permits / D29FC04 |
Belgian Greenhouse Gas Registry data on verified emissions and free emission allowances by industry |
|
| FED - surtax on transmission price for offshore wind energy / D214AC30 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| FC - green certificates delivery / D214AC31 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| FC - surtax on distribution prices to finance green certificates / D214AC32 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| WR - green certificates delivery / D214AC33 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| WR - surtax on transmission prices to finance green certificates / D214AC34 |
detailed tax study for the SUT | |
| BCR - green certificates delivery / D214AC35 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Transport taxes
|
Taxes on traffic / D214DC02 |
SUT combined with Vehicle Registration Service data |
| Traffic taxes paid by corporation / D29BC01 |
vehicle park data |
|
| Traffic taxes paid by households / D59BC01 |
direct from NTL |
|
| Euro tax disc / D29BC03 |
vehicle park data |
|
| Taxes equal to excise rights paid by corporations / D29BC04 |
vehicle park data |
|
| Taxes equal to excise rights paid by households / D59DC02 |
direct from NTL |
|
| Additional levy on car insurance premiums / D214GC03 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Tax on the embarkment of aircrafts / D214HC01 |
direct from NTL |
|
| Pollution taxes |
Packing contribution / D2122CC16+D214AC25 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
| Environmental charge / D2122CC17+D214AC26 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Ecotax / D2122CC18+D214AC27 |
detailed tax study for the SUT |
|
| Tax on waste products / D29FC01 |
regional tax data |
|
| Tax on manure / D29FC02 |
regional tax data |
|
| Taxes on water / D214AC17+D29FC03 |
detailed tax study for the SUT and regional tax data |
|
| Tax on household waste / D59BC01 |
regional tax data |
|
| Resource taxes |
Taxes on water / D29FC03 |
regional tax data and Eurostat data on annual freshwater abstraction by source and sector and on the water use in the manufacturing industry by activity and supply category |
18.2. Frequency of data collection
National tax list (NTL): when the ETEA tables are sent, they include the NTL. The NTL is updaded each year in October. Data for year T is available at T+11.
Regional tax list (RTL): annual update in October. Data for year T is available at T+11.
Detailed tax study for the SUT: at irregular intervals, 2 to 3 years after the reference year
Emission permits: update each year in May. Data for year T available at T+5.
Vehicle registration service data: on demand
Vehicle park data: on demand
Eurostat data on annual freshwater abstraction by source and sector and on the water use in the manufacturing industry by activity and supply category: update published on a yearly basis in December. Data for year T available at year T+36.
18.3. Data collection
Data from the Belgian Greenhouse Gas Registry and the Eurostat databases are extracted from their websites.
The data on vehicle registry service and on the vehicle park are provided on demand by the FPB team dealing with transport issues.
The detailed tax studies for the SUTs are provided by the FPB input-output team.
Regional tax data are provided by the FPB public finance team.
There is no agreed schedule for data delivery. Sources are used as they become available.
18.4. Data validation
When anomalies are observed with respect to in-house data, we contact the data providers to detect the reason(s) behind the anomalies and try to handle/fix them.
For outside source data, proper quality is assumed. In case we detect outliers, we contact the relevant data provider(s).
18.5. Data compilation
The basis for the calculation is identified by the revenue of different environmental taxes, reported in the national accounts' National Tax List (NTL).
These totals are distributed across the different economic agents on the basis of distribution keys. As far as the taxes are linked to the purchase of certain products, the distribution is mainly determined by the national accounts' use tables, and more specifically by detailed tax studies which have been developed in order to calculate the use tables at basic prices.
A more detailed explanation of the methodology by type of tax is provided in 18.5.2.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not applicable.
18.5.2. Use of imputation methods
| Tax type |
Reference years |
Method for breaking down revenue to payer |
|---|---|---|
| Excise duties on mineral oil | 2008-2023 | The excise duties on mineral oil are available in the NTL as one value for all the different products on which these excise duties are due. Excise duties on the different mineral oils are of course not identical. For diesel there is even a different rate depending on whether it is used for heating or for transport purposes. The value therefore not only has to be allocated to the industries and households, but also has to be split over the different products on which excise duties have to be paid. This is achieved by first calculating theoretical excise duty payments, on the basis of the use of the different products, an average price of these products[1], and the differentiated tax rates on these products, taking into account the existing tax exemptions. In a second step the payments by the industries and the households are adjusted proportionally to the actual excise duty payments per product, obtained from the FPS Finance. Part of the excise duties on mineral oil for transport purposes ought to be allocated to non-residents, which fill their tank in Belgium. However, the use of mineral oil for transport purposes is only calculated for Belgian residents. No information is available on the amount of fuel tanked by foreigners in Belgium. Nor is there any information on the amount of fuel tanked by Belgian residents abroad. As a consequence, excise taxes paid in Belgium by both residents and foreigners, or in other words territorial excise tax payments, are allocated to Belgian residents only.
[1] An average price has to be taken into account because the excise duties are paid per liter or ton. In order to calculate the theoretical excise duties paid, the monetary use of the different products has to be transformed into the appropriate physical units by means of this average price. |
| Contribution for the surveillance on domestic fuel oil | 2008-2023 | The contribution for the surveillance on domestic fuel oil is restricted to only one product, namely diesel for heating purposes. A theoretical contribution is calculated on the basis of the use of diesel for heating purposes and the tax rate differentiated according to the user of the diesel. In a second step the payments by the industries and the households are adjusted proportionally to the actual level of the contribution’s total value. |
| Contribution on oil products for heating | 2008-2023 | The contribution on oil products for heating is levied on diesel, kerosene and propane for heating purposes. No data is available to allocate the tax to the three different fuel types. Since the use of kerosene and propane for heating purposes is dwarfed by the use of diesel, the allocation is based on the use of the latter only. A theoretical contribution is calculated on the basis of the use of diesel for heating purposes and the tax rate differentiated according to the user of the diesel. In a second step the payments by the industries and the households are adjusted proportionally to the actual level of the contribution’s total value. |
| Contribution on energy | 2008-2023 | The contribution on energy has to be paid on many different energy products. As a consequence, just like for the excise duties, the total value not only has to be allocated to the industries and the households, but also has to be split across the different products. Differentiated tax rates are applied to the use of the products. Theoretical tax payments are calculated. And finally, the payments by the industries and the households are adjusted proportionally to the actual level of the contribution’s total value by product obtained from the FPS Finance. |
| Contribution of the oil industry | 2008-2023 | The contribution of the oil industry is a tax levied on oil products for energy use. This contribution is therefore entirely allocated to the energy industry (NACE 35). |
| Federal contribution on electricity and natural gas | 2008-2023 | The federal contribution on electricity and natural gas is split across the two products in the supply table. Since there is no differentiation in the tax rate, the contribution was directly allocated to industries and households on the basis of their use of electricity and natural gas. |
| Contribution for FAPETRO | 2008-2023 | The contribution for FAPETRO has to be paid on petrol, diesel and kerosene. As a consequence, the total value not only has to be allocated to the industries and the households, but also has to be split across the different products. Differentiated tax rates are applied to the use of the products. Theoretical tax payments are calculated. And finally, the payments by the industries and the households are adjusted proportionally to the actual level of the contribution’s total value by product obtained from the FPS Finance. |
| Contribution for APETRA | 2008-2023 | The contribution for APETRA has to be paid on petrol, diesel, kerosene and heavy fuel. As a consequence, the total value not only has to be allocated to the industries and the households, but also has to be split across the different products. Differentiated tax rates are applied to the use of the products. Theoretical tax payments are calculated. And finally, the payments by the industries and the households are adjusted proportionally to the actual level of the contribution’s total value by product obtained from the FPS Finance. |
| Flemish charge on supply points of electricity | 2008-2023 | Pending data on the number of customers of electricity per category (residential customers of low voltage, non-residential customers of low voltage, customers of medium voltage and customers of high voltage), the Flemish charge on supply points of electricity is currently allocated to the households and industries on the basis of their use of electricity. |
| Emission permits | 2008-2023 | The emission permits have to be bought by enterprises which are considered not to be confronted with foreign competition in order to cover (part of) their emissions of carbon dioxide. We made use of Belgian data on verified emissions and free emission allowances by industry to distribute the NTL total over the industries which have to pay for their emission permits. From 2013 to 2017, NACE 35 was the largest contributor by far, with a share of roughly 80%. This share should fall over time as more and more industries no longer receive free emission permits or receive only a smaller part of their allowances for free. |
| FED - surtax on transmission price for offshore wind energy | 2008-2023 | The federal surtax on transmission price for offshore wind energy is levied on the use of electricity. As a distribution key, we therefore rely on the use table, and distribute the total value among the various users of electricity. |
| FC - tax via surrendered quotas for green certificates | 2008-2023 | The costs of the electricity suppliers to comply with the quota obligations are largely passed on to electricity users via the electricity bill. They can be found under the heading ‘Renewable Energy Contribution (+CHP)’ and are calculated on the basis of electricity consumption. In 2016, this contribution will amount to approximately 2.65 euro cents/kWh. On 23 September 2017, the Flemish Government decided to increase this contribution (increase of about 4 euro per year). All households and businesses are charged, regardless of whether they are connected to the high-voltage grid (the thirty largest consumers of electricity in Flanders), the medium-voltage grid (most large and medium-sized businesses) or the low-voltage grid (all households and part of the tertiary sector). However, electricity supplies to energy-intensive businesses are often exempted. The total amount is allocated to industries and households on the basis of the use of electricity. |
| FC - surtax on distribution fees to finance green certificates | 2008-2023 | Distribution system operators recover the cost of the guaranteed purchase of certificates at minimum prices by selling them again on the market. The difference between the minimum price and the sales price, is what the operators pass on through the distribution fees. Thereby allocating the total value of the surtax to industries and households on the basis of the use of electricity. |
| WR - tax via surrendered quotas for green certificates | 2008-2023 | The costs to comply with the obligation to surrender an allocated quota as an electricity supplier will appear on the electricity bill as a contribution to renewable energy. In the Walloon Region, however, there are so many exemptions from this tax that the total value is attributed to the households as a rough estimate. |
| WR - surtax on transmission fees to finance green certificates | 2008-2023 | The costs associated with the task granted to the operator of the high-voltage grid to purchase GC and take them off the market, are passed on through the transmission fees. Because there are many exemptions from this surtax, the total value is attributed to the households as a rough estimate. |
| BCR - tax via surrendered quotas for green certificates | 2008-2023 | The acquisition of GC represents an additional financial burden for suppliers. They will recover the costs of their obligation via their customers. These costs are mentioned on their invoices under 'green energy contribution'. The total amount is allocated to industries and households on the basis of the use of electricity in the use table. |
| Taxes on traffic | 2008-2023 | This is a tax which is linked to the purchase of a vehicle. For industries the purchase of a vehicle is an investment, however. This implies that in the use table, all purchases of vehicles by industries are added together in the investment column. The share paid by the households can be derived from the use table, but the allocation to the different industries requires extra data. We used data from the DIV[1] on the registration of vehicles by industries classified according to NACE Rev.2. These taxes on traffic, which are taxes on the entry into service of the vehicles, are very diverse. In order to calculate theoretical tax payments, as is done for the energy taxes, very detailed data on the types of vehicles purchased by the different industries are required. These data are not readily available. The taxes on traffic paid by the industries are therefore distributed over the different industries on the basis of the total number of newly registered vehicles.
[1] Dienst Inschrijvingen Voertuigen (Vehicle Registration Service) |
| Additional levy on car insurance premiums | 2008-2023 | This tax is linked to the purchase of car insurance. The total tax is distributed over the buyers of car insurance according to the monetary use tables. |
| Traffic taxes paid by corporations | 2008-2023 | The yearly traffic taxes are not linked to the purchase of a vehicle, as rather to the possession of a vehicle. In order to distribute the traffic taxes paid by corporations, vehicle park[1] data were used. Just like for the taxes on traffic, these traffic taxes are very diverse. Detailed data on the distribution of different types of vehicles is not available. The traffic taxes paid by corporations are therefore distributed across the industries on the basis of the total number of vehicles registered as being owned by the different industries in a particular year.
[1] The distribution of the vehicle park over the industries is calculated by the transport team of the FPB. |
| Traffic taxes paid by households | 2008-2023 | The traffic taxes paid by households are separately identified in the NTL and can thus be attributed directly to the households. |
| Euro tax disc | 2008-2023 | Payments for the Euro tax disc are distributed over the industries on the basis of vehicle park data with respect to the ownership of trucks. Again, only the total number of trucks is taken into account, due to the fact that the detailed industry data on the different classes of trucks are not readily available. |
| Taxes equal to excise rights paid by corporations | 2008-2023 | The taxes equal to excise rights are paid by the owners of diesel cars. Most of the cars owned by Belgian corporations are diesel cars. The taxes equal to excise rights paid by corporations are therefore distributed across the industries on the basis of vehicle park data on the ownership of cars. |
| Taxes equal to excise rights paid by households | 2008-2023 | The taxes equal to excise rights paid by the households are identified separately in the NTL, and can thus be attributed directly to the households. |
| Tax on the embarkment of aircrafts | 2008-2023 | The tax on the embarkment of aircraft is a tax allocated to all airline companies operating in Belgium. Airline companies have to pay a tax on all passengers embarking an aircraft in Belgium. This tax is entirely paid by the air transport industry (NACE 51). |
| Packing contribution | 2008-2023 | The packing contribution has to be paid upon the purchase of beverages in particular types of packing. The distribution across industries and households is achieved on the basis of the use table. The use table contains different types of beverages for which the packing contribution needs to be paid. There is a differentiation in the rate between reusable and non-reusable packing. However, it is impossible to take this into account, since the use table does not include this differentiation. The packing contribution, the total of which is split over the different products in the use table, is distributed over industries and households on the basis of their use of the different beverages. |
| Environmental charge | 2008-2023 | The environmental charge has to be paid on a set of products for household use, and is entirely allocated to the households. |
| Ecotax |
2008-2023 |
The ecotax has to be paid on batteries, disposable cameras, and certain types of packing of glue, ink and solvents for professional use. The tax does not have to be paid if certain recycling objectives are met. The income generated by the ecotax is all but negligible. Information from the FPS Finance showed that in the period 2011-2013 on average 96% of the ecotax was paid on batteries.[1] The ecotax was therefore attributed entirely to the households.
[1] Data by product is not available for years prior to 2011. |
| Taxes on water (pollution) |
2008-2023 | Most of the taxes on water are pollution taxes. They have been introduced in order to limit water pollution. The part linked to domestic water use is taxed according to the physical units of water used. This is not the case for the industrial use of water, for which the pollution is directly measured. Taxes on water are regional taxes. The distribution over the different tax payers starts off with the calculation of the part paid by the households. As a matter of fact, the part of domestic water taxes not paid by the households, but paid by the enterprises was almost nil in 2010-2013, the years for which the detailed tax studies on which the allocations are based, were performed.[1] This part of the water taxes was therefore completely allocated to the households. Taxes on the industrial use of water are allocated to the individual industries on the basis of their use of water found in the use table.[2]
[1] Flanders was the only region where taxes on domestic water use had not fallen to zero. Information provided by the Flemish administration showed that the part paid by enterprises was all but negligible. [2] These taxes should really be linked to measured pollution. However, this is only possible if water pollution accounts exist, in which the pollution linked to the activities of the individual industries is registered. No such accounts exist at the moment in Belgium. |
| Tax on waste products (FR and WR) |
2008-2023 | The Flemish and the Walloon tax on waste products is entirely paid by NACE 38[1].
[1] Information obtained from OVAM and SPW, the regional administrations responsible for waste policy. |
| Tax on manure (FR) | 2008-2023 | The tax on manure is entirely allocated to agriculture (NACE 01). |
| Tax on household waste (RW) | 2008-2023 | The Walloon tax on household waste is completely allocated to the households. |
| Taxes on water (resource) |
2008-2023 |
There are only few resource taxes in Belgium. They are part of the taxes on water. These resource taxes are the Flemish groundwater tax, the Flemish charge on water capture and the Walloon tax on water withdrawals. The sum of the different regional resource taxes can be allocated to the different industries by using water statistics. As these regional taxes apply to water directly extracted from nature, the use tables from the national accounts cannot be used for that purpose because this kind of water is not considered as a product. It is not sold or distributed by water companies. However, the Eurostat data on annual freshwater abstraction by source and sector [env_wat_abs] can be used[1]. The level of detail as concerns the industries which abstract freshwater from the environment in this dataset does not correspond to the NACE Rev.2 A*64-level, however. The industries are only available at a more aggregated level. In what follows, we explain how the data on freshwater abstraction were allocated to the industries at the level required by Regulation 691/2011. First the water abstraction for public water supply is deducted from the total gross abstraction. The item “Water abstraction for construction and other industrial activities” is allocated to construction only (NACE section F). Furthermore, the item “Water abstraction for production of electricity – cooling” is allocated to NACE section D. Section E - Sewerage, waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery; remediation activities and other waste management services is not present in the table of annual freshwater abstraction, but since the amount of freshwater abstracted by this industry is zero or very close to zero for all years between 2008 and 2010 [2], none of the resource tax revenue has been allocated to NACE section E. Finally, the amount not allocated is calculated as the difference between total water abstracted and the sum of all components. Per NACE section the share of the total annual freshwater abstraction is then calculated. For sections B, D, and F no further disaggregation is required. Other information or assumptions are required for further allocation of the resource tax revenue to the NACE division level. All tax revenue previously calculated for section A – Agriculture, forestry and fishing, is allocated to NACE 01 - Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities. To allocate the resource tax revenue for section C - Manufacturing to the different divisions, a more disaggregated table is used on the water use in the manufacturing industry by activity and supply category. These data can be found in Eurostat dataset env_wat_ind. This dataset allows calculating the resource tax revenue for NACE divisions 10-12 - Manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products, 13-15 - Manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel and leather products, 17 - Manufacture of paper and paper products and 24 - Manufacture of basic metals [3]. For the remaining divisions in section C, we made use of the use of product 36A01 – Abstraction, treatment and distribution of water (in the Belgian monetary use table), in order to allocate the resource tax revenue [4]. As far as the services sections G to U are concerned, the total amount of resource tax revenue paid is allocated to the different divisions in proportion to their use of product 36A01.
[1] These data show the total annual freshwater abstraction in Belgium. [2] The volume of water abstracted is calculated based on another Eurostat dataset [env_wat_cat]. [3] To estimate the total tax revenue paid by NACE divisions 10 – 11, the share of total manufacturing in total water abstracted and the share of divisions 10 – 11 in total manufacturing are combined and applied to the total resource tax revenue. [4] To estimate the total tax revenue paid by NACE division 19, we combine three shares: the share of the use of product 36A01 by NACE 19 in the total use of 36A01 by NACE divisions 19-21, the share of total manufacturing in total water abstracted and the share of NACE divisions 19-21 in total manufacturing, and apply them to total resource tax revenue. |
18.5.3. Compilation of estimations
For 2008 and 2009, no detailed tax studies were available. We have used the 2010 version in combination with the 2008 and 2009 SUTs in order to calculate the values for 2008 and 2009.
For 2022 and 2023, neither SUTs nor detailed tax studies were available yet. The 2021 detailed tax study has been used to distribute the 2022 and 2023 values from the NTL.
18.5.4. Compilation of revenue payable by non-residents
The detailed tax studies for the SUT contain data on several environmental taxes paid by the non-residents, but this is not the case for excise duties on mineral oils. The part of these environmental taxes paid by non-residents is included in the payments of the residents.
18.5.5. Compilation of revenue broken down by payer for years before 2008
No distribution is made for the period prior to 2008.
18.6. Adjustment
No adjustment made.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable.
For the period 2008-2023, there exist small differences between the total pollution and resource taxes in the NTL and the RTL. This is due the fact that regional tax data for the taxes on water have been used, instead of the NTL. The discrepancy arises due to a higher degree of precision applied in the regional data.
Data presents environmental tax revenue (by tax category, i.e. energy (including CO2 taxes), transport, pollution and resource taxes) broken down by economic activity (using the NACE Rev.2 classification on the level of A*64 activities, extended to cover taxes payable by households and non-residents).
30 April 2025
The environmental tax statistics are compiled based on Eurostat’s 2024 'Environmental taxes - A statistical guide, 2024 Edition'. An 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 ESA 95 as a tax".
Environmental tax statistics are part of European environmental economic accounts, which constitute satellite accounts to the national accounts. Hence, environmental tax statistics follow the 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, but are reported as non-tax items in a separate row in the tables. 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 (industries according to NACE Rev.2 A*64, households, non-residents).
The target population consists of all economic agents paying environmental taxes to the Belgian government.
Belgium
The data refer to calendar years.
Currently, we are unable to allocate the excise duties on mineral oil to non-residents as we do not have any data on fuel purchased by non-residents in Belgium. Consequently, the energy taxes paid by residents (non-residents) are slightly overestimated (underestimated). We have tried to allocate the excise duties on mineral oil to the non-residents based on road use data but as this does not indicate whether the non-residents actually purchased fuel on Belgian territory we decided not to apply this method.
Million National Currency (MNAC)
All series are measured at current prices.
The basis for the calculation is identified by the revenue of different environmental taxes, reported in the national accounts' National Tax List (NTL).
These totals are distributed across the different economic agents on the basis of distribution keys. As far as the taxes are linked to the purchase of certain products, the distribution is mainly determined by the national accounts' use tables, and more specifically by detailed tax studies which have been developed in order to calculate the use tables at basic prices.
A more detailed explanation of the methodology by type of tax is provided in 18.5.2.
Totals to be distributed are taken from the National Tax List (NTL). For taxes on water, regional tax data is used.
Distribution across the economic agents is to a high extent determined by the detailed tax studies developed for the national accounts Use table.
On a yearly basis (end of April).
ETEA data take about a month to produce.
All environmental taxes described in the Eurostat manual are included. None where added.
There are no breaks in the series. Changes in methodology are applied to the entire series.
