http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/13958084/more-than-30-councils-to-...

Less than 300 polluters will pay Labor's controversial carbon tax which starts in a fortnight, including 33 local councils that operate large rubbish tips or supply natural gas.

The regulator overseeing the carbon price regime has released the final list of liable entities which generate more than 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gasses per year.

It includes 294 companies, universities and councils.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard originally said the carbon tax would be paid by the top 1000 polluters.

But when the $23-a-tonne carbon price was announced 12 months ago that figure was cut in half. Now it's down to a third.

"I've been saying for some time that we anticipate that list to come in well underneath 500 entities," Climate Change Minister Greg Combet told reporters in Perth on Friday.

The minister said the "principal list" of 294 polluters could be updated from time to time by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER).

Polluters could come off the list if they reduced emissions while others might be added if they expanded production, Mr Combet said.

The regulator in May published a list of 248 entities it expected to be slugged. On Friday it added an extra 24 councils and another 22 entities.

Climate change parliamentary secretary Mark Dreyfus was keen to put a positive spin on the latest news.

"It's clear the vast majority of landfills in Australia will not be covered by the carbon pricing mechanism," he said in a statement.

Mr Dreyfus noted councils could reduce or eliminate their carbon tax liability by capturing dangerous gasses produced by decomposing waste in order to bring them below the 25,000 tonne threshold.

Emissions can be cut by so-called gas flaring, installing combustion equipment, recycling and composting.

Landfills can generate carbon farming initiative credits to help meet their liability while larger tips could produce power from emissions to accrue renewable energy certificates.

The climate change department estimates the impact of the carbon price on an average household's waste will be between 13 and 47 cents per week.

Local governments on the list include Albury, Armidale, Bendigo, Brisbane, Darwin, Gold Coast, Geelong, Griffith, Launceston, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga and Wollongong councils.

The regulator is also counting the Southern Region Waste Resource Authority as a 34th "council" although it's actually a subsidiary of constituent local councils in South Australia.

Included tips technically don't have to pay the tax until mid-2013. But councils that have done their sums already could increase rates and fees from July 1 this year because landfill emissions are released over 40 years.

Liable entities were always going to be added to the polluters' list in two phases.

But opposition climate action spokesman Greg Hunt on Friday argued the process was shambolic.

"With two weeks to go ... there is complete chaos as to who is on and off the list," he said in a statement.

The regulator originally wrote to 104 local councils it thought could operate landfills that would be liable. In May it expected 70 would end up being paying.

The fact fewer than 300 polluters will pay the carbon tax rather than the 500 expected a year ago doesn't necessarily mean the government will be facing a significant shortfall in revenue.

While fewer entities will be liable to purchase pollution permits, AAP understands the bulk of the revenue will still come from the biggest emitters, including large energy companies.

A spokesman for Mr Combet later said it was the level of emissions, not the number of entities liable to pay the carbon price, that drove revenue.

"The vast majority of carbon price revenue comes from the largest emitters in the economy, with the 20 largest liable entities responsible for over half of the revenue from the carbon pricing mechanism," the spokesman told AAP in a statement.

"So the government does not consider these decisions on potential liability of particular entities are material to the estimates of carbon price revenue in the budget."

Maqqa wrote on Jun 16^th, 2012 at 7:42am:



The money for the electricity increases is non existent anyway. Like i said before she did away with the tax claim-back and gave out the money. Its money that was already there. you used to be able to claim back up to $1500 (i think) on school uniforms, books, etc. Now you cant but you get this money in compensation from the carbon tax instead. How does that make anyone better off?

SOB

Sir Spot of Borg wrote on Jun 16^th, 2012 at 7:51am:



There are lots of areas in your tax form which are not monitored from a proof point of view.
You could easily cover the difference in certain other areas.

I am not going to give you tax advice though.

I would add thought, I managed to reduce my income tax in Australia to less than 18% on an income of well over $180k.

Just know the nooks and crannies my friend, there are lots there.