Ecology and taxation: converging struggles? The introduction of a carbon component into the TICPE in France Ecology and taxation: converging struggles? The introduction of a carbon component into the TICPE in France

Résumé 0

The 2014 Finance Bill (PLF 2014) introduced a carbon component, also called a climate-energy contribution or carbon tax, into the Domestic Consumption Tax on Energy Products (TICPE). The incorporation of this measure into the 2014 Finance Bill was a government act which formally drew on the work of a Standing Committee on Ecological Taxation (CFE), work that we studied in order to understand the background to the introduction of the carbon tax into the TICPE. On this empirical basis (numerous CFE documents and interviews conducted with members of the standing committee), the purpose of this article is to show the interdependence between tax and energy policy that emerged from the committee's work, which culminated in the vote in favour of the reform of the TICPE. Our analysis shows how the members of the CFE had to accommodate to rules and arrangements imposed by the tax system. Indeed, the influence of these rules is apparent in the decision to go through the TICPE, which reflects a twofold imperative: first, the requirement to generate returns, since a tax is above all a source of revenue; and second, the requirement not to create a new tax. There are several features of the decision to reform the TICPE that are meaningful in public policy terms. On the one hand, the use of a fiscal instrument brought into play arguments concerning a tax shift-a fiscal transition. At the same time, the focus on fossil fuel consumption and the associated CO 2 emissions, fostered discussions on the quest for energy frugality-an energy transition. Of course, in reality, the two orientations are not separate but interdependent.