At least one heavy industry company in Iceland is outraged by a recent raise in “carbon dioxide tax”, which they say will badly damage their business. Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon remains adamant that the taxes will rise to planned levels.
Up until now, carbon dioxide tax has only been levied against gas and oil. However, these are not the only sources of the greenhouse gas. RÚV reports that after the new year, producers of ferrosilicon will also be subject to this tax. Elkem is an alloy company that manufactures the metal, used in deoxidising steel, among other applications.
Elkem is less than pleased with the idea, sending a letter to every minister and member of parliament, stating that the tax levels in 2015 alone will be double the company’s average earnings over the past ten years. This would make it unprofitable for Elkem to continue doing business in Iceland.
While the minister said he would look into the matter further, he did close by saying, “It is not in the cards that Iceland will become some sort of tax paradise for polluting industries that are already well taxed in other nations.”
He also pointed out that it had never been discussed that this company or others like it would be somehow not be taxed in some way; that the fishing industry, car owners, and other parties who use a great deal of fossil fuels would get taxed while Elkem would somehow be exempt.
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