Cape Verdean government sets eco-tax for glass, plastic and metal

Praia, Cape Verde, 22 Sept – The Cape Verdean government plans to create an Ecological tax, which will be applied to producers and importers of metal, glass and plastic packaging, the Council of Ministers spokesman said in Praia Friday.

Janira Hopffer Almada noted that the tax had been created in 1995 and cancelled in 2002, with the introduction of Value Added Tax (IVA).

“Taking into account Cape Verde’s membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) internal legislation needs to be adapted," said the minister adding that medication and basic necessities, such as sugar, oil, beans and maize and products for construction such as chalk, whitewash and cement, where exempt from the new tax.

In Cape Verde plastic, glass and metal packages are not yet recycled and are dumped along with biodegradable waste, and burned.

The minister did not say how much the tax would be, noting that the law was still at a stage of proposal, and denied that there would be double taxation on packaging. (macauhub)