Landfill Tax rates from 1 April 2018 have been confirmed by the Treasury today (8 March 2017) and are to be set at £88.95 per tonne for standard rate material and £2.80 per tonne for lower rate material.
Alongside the publication of the rates in today’s Budget documents, the Treasury has also announced that there is be a consultation starting on March 20 on the potential for imposing landfill tax on illegal disposals of waste.
Landfill tax will be £88.95 from 1 April 2018
Plus, the Treasury has also given details of the funding regime for the Landfill Communities Fund for 2017-19 and there is also confirmation of previously announced legislative changes governing the taxable disposal of materials and waste at landfill sites.
Tax rates
The landfill tax will rise from both 1 April 2017 and a year later in line with RPI – no indication of rates beyond 1 April 2019 have yet been given by the Treasury. Landfill tax rates are shown in the table below.
| £ per tonne landfill tax | Standard rate | Lower rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 2016 | 84.40 | 2.65 |
| 1 April 2017 | 86.10 | 2.70 |
| 1 April 2018 | 88.95 | 2.80 |
Consultation
The government, the Treasury announced today, will consult on “extending the scope of Landfill Tax to illegal disposals of waste made without the required permit or licence”.
This is seen as coming partly because of concerns of local authorities and other landowners over the rising costs of dealing with large scale flytipping or dumping of waste which have occurred on an almost “industrial” scale according to some commentators.
Communities Fund
The Landfill Communities Fund appears to have been given something of a boost by the Chancellor as it was announced that the value of the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) for 2017-18 will remain unchanged at £39.3 million and the cap on contributions by landfill operators will be increased to 5.3%.
This cap will be maintained, said the Treasury, “subject to consideration of Landfill Tax receipts, continued progress in reducing the level of unspent funds held by environmental bodies and the proportion of LCF funds spent on administration costs.”
Taxable disposal
Originally announced in Budget 2016, and following consultation over summer 2016, legislation is be introduced in the Finance Bill 2017, and in secondary legislation, to amend the definition of a taxable disposal for Landfill Tax.
The Treasury said: “The changes clarify the tax treatment of material disposed of at landfill sites and give greater certainty to landfill site operators. Following technical consultation, the draft legislation has been restructured to simplify and improve ease of comprehension. The measure will come into effect after Royal Assent of Finance Bill 2017 and the changes will apply to disposals to landfill in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
The Treasury is known to want to tighten the rules around tax treatment for landfills, partly because HMRC has been involved in a number of contentious legal cases over the tax in recent years.