Chancellor to scrap Carbon Reduction Commitment

THE CHANCELLOR is likely to replace a controversial environmental tax and reporting system with something less complex.

George Osborne said he would either revise or scrap the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), an energy-related tax on all companies that pay more than £500,000 on their energy bills, The Financial Times reports.

It is thought the chancellor wants to introduce a system that is less complicated, confusing and costly for companies to operate. It is estimated by the government that industry currently coughs up about £97m of bureaucratic costs when participating in the scheme.

Organisations entered into the CRC scheme, estimated to be more than 5,000, must report and pay in advance for their carbon emissions related to energy. When the scheme was first created by the Labour party, the money paid into it was destined to be recycled into the scheme to pay for its operation and to offer a rebate for the organisations which had made the best improvement.

However, in 2010 the Conservatives decided to add the revenues to the public coiffeurs, essentially creating a green tax on the largest organisations in the country.