The Taxation of Land Used for Energy Production

Abstract

The provisions of the L.T.C.A. governing land taxation introduce a general rule that land on which actual business activities are undertaken is taxed more heavily than other land. Apart from a purely fiscal function (a higher tax for entrepreneurs who derive profits from the land), this solution also plays a stimulation role in that the tax regulation encourages the taxpayer to occupy the land for business activity only in such an area and for such a time as are necessary. This condition is particularly important in the case of opencast mining, which has a particularly heavy impact on the landscape. The regulations in force motivate entrepreneurs to restore the land as quickly as possible as part of the reclamation process. In this context, whether protective strips are treated as occupied for business activity may be subject to doubts. Imposing maximum tax rates on such land discourages taxpayers from voluntarily surrounding their power plants or mines with a ‘green buffer’. On the contrary, entrepreneurs can profit by using the maximum legal area of their land if they pay the same tax on this land as they would on unused land. Therefore, this interpretation of the legislation not only fails to fulfil its protective function with respect to the land but may even have the opposite effect.