Would Environmental Taxes by Any Other Name Smell Sweet?

Abstract

The concept of environmental tax is becoming very broad referring to many different fiscal measures that are, firstly, not always taxes per se and, secondly, not always strictly related to the environment. This leads to its lack of clarity. This article is aimed at underlining that we need a common framework for defining environmental taxes in order to avoid an improper use of this term and, after analyzing the actual definitions of environmental taxes in the international context, it will propose an alternative approach to the matter.