Assessing energy tax systems: The effects of energy taxation in Switzerland

The Swiss Federal Administration has recently proposed the urgent introduction of an energy tax. In this article the authors describe the range of tax structures which could be designed from various combinations of basic components. The fiscal, economic and administrative repercussions of various energy tax structures are traced through and compared with those of a value added tax. The authors examine, in particular, the effects of an energy tax in Switzerland and the interactions between such a tax and federal fiscal policies. The choice of a particular energy tax structure is a normative decision which must be left to the political process. The authors hope that this article will be useful in making such processes more transparent, more rational and more effective.