The war on plastic began in 2015, with the introduction of the Plastic Bag Tax, and the fight is far from over. The UK Government introduced the idea of the Plastic Packaging Tax in 2021, due to be implemented in April 2022.
Now, we know legal gobbledygook is not very fun, but neither is a surprise bill slapped on your counter, so this might not be the most interesting packaging blogs BUT it is important!
The Plastic Packaging Tax is meant to provide businesses with an economic reason to choose recycled plastic material instead of new plastics. The tax is to charge £200 per tonne for packaging containing less than 30% recycled material.
Amendments
The amendments made to the Plastic Packaging Tax will be implemented into the Finance Bill to amend the Finance Act where the tax was made law. This act demands that the charge of plastic packaging is applicable to plastics both made and imported into the UK.
Another amendment was to ensure that smaller businesses do not have to register or pay the tax on their plastic packaging. The change allows smaller businesses to save money in comparison to larger corporations who will not miss the money or will use enough plastic to reap the benefits of cutting down to £200 per tonne.
Those visiting the UK such as forces and diplomats will be exempt with the Government providing tax relief for this group of people.
Businesses must have a representative member who will take on the obligation of completing the tax returns for the Plastic Packaging Tax and HMRC must notify the representative member of the applications.
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