A comparative analysis of tax and other incentive and disincentive measures introduced in South Africa, Australia and Canada, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Abstract

The impact of greenhouse gas emissions is obvious in global warming and climate change. Governments worldwide use tax policies to prevent global warming, and tax policy is an important instrument in government’s “toolbox”. South Africa, as party to the Paris Agreement, is mandated to take appropriate measures to stabilise greenhouse gas concentration at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The objective of this thesis was to compare tax incentives and disincentives, as well as other measures, introduced in South Africa, Australia and Canada, aimed at combatting greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating global warming. To address the objective of the thesis, tax incentives and disincentives provided in terms of South African, Australian and Canadian tax legislation, as well as financial incentives by the public and private sector, were identified, discussed and compared. The study was situated within the post-positivist paradigm, applied a doctrinal research methodology, comparing legislation in the three jurisdictions. The qualitative method applied involved a thematic analysis of the data. The comparison of similarities and differences in the tax incentives provided by South Africa, Australia and Canada revealed that while South Africa has implemented a number of legislative measures aimed at reducing global warming caused by greenhouse gases, Australia and Canada provide a wider range of tax incentives that also encourage the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases, as well as measures to promote carbon sequestration and other incentives. The comparison of tax incentives and disincentives in the three jurisdictions revealed several possible tax measures that could be introduced in South Africa, based on the tax measures implemented in Australia and Canada.