Fiscal legislation and protection of the environment on the European and national level. Relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court of Romania

• Author: Simona-Maya Teodoroiu
• Pages: 455-462

Fiscal legislation and protection of the environment on the European

and national level. Relevant jurisprudence of the European Court

of Justice and the Constitutional Court of Romania

Associate professor Simona-Maya TEODOROIU1

Abstract

Legal fiscal tools may represent a “powerful engine” to streng then environmental

protection. They mainly refer to eco-taxes, red uction and/or exoneration of taxes, taxes

dedicated to actions in favor o f the environment protection. Relevant examples on the

“internalization” of related costs through taxation, as well as para-fiscal taxes may be

offered, together with a perspective of new fiscal policies developed on international and

European level. In Romania, several legislative acts in the respective area have been adopted

and implemented, starting with 2008, followed by several decisions of the national courts, as

well as releva nt judgments issued by the European Court of Justice (CJEU), declaring the

national legislation a s being incompatible with the texts of the Treaty. A legal provision of

the European law may be used within the framework of the review of constitutionality, as an

indirect rule of reference, pursuant to Art. 148(2) and (4) of the Constitution of R omania.

Keywords: fiscal legislation, protection of the environment, Court of Justice of the

European Union, Constitutional Court of Romania.

JEL Classification: K32, K33, K34

1. Preliminary considerations

Fiscal measures may represent a “powerful engine” to orient and positively

change individual and collective behaviors and various countries world-wide have

developed legal fiscal tools and have implemented legislative provisions in order to

strengthen environmental protection. The main purposes of the respective legal

provisions are generally the same in all countries, meaning:

- to obtain the dissuasive effect of the legal provision, referring to a certain

behavior of all public and private actors;

- to support and encourage pro-active measures in favor of the protection

of the environment;

- to further invest in environmental measures and projects, the amount of

money obtained through these taxes.

Consequently, the fiscal tools do not refer only to eco-taxes, imposed on

emissions or activities that generate pollution, but also to reduction or exoneration

of taxes to be paid, as well as taxes directly dedicated to actions in favor of the

environment protection.

1 Simona-Maya Teodoroiu - Judge of the Constitutional Court of Romania; associate professor, Faculty

of Law, “Titu Maiorescu” University; Faculty of Public Administration, National School of Political

Sciences and Public Administration (SNSPA), Principal r esearcher, 3rd degree, Legal Research

Institute “Andrei Radulescu” of the Romanian Academy, Romania, simona_teodoroiu@yahoo.com.