How taxes shape choices and the UK’s economy

As governments and companies commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, many of the industries that will dominate the 21st century will be green. British companies are at the forefront of the transition, but there are growing calls for the government to incentivise greater investment in sectors such as renewable energy and electric car batteries. 

Our polling of 4,000 UK adults shows that the UK public are broadly supportive of the introduction of subsidies seen through the USA’s Inflation Reduction Act to incentivise the transition to Net Zero, even if the UK can’t match the scale provided. However, the public is keen for more carrot incentives rather than sticks, with over two in five (42%) supporting using taxpayer money to subsidise green technology, with a quarter (23%) taking a pro-tax and pro-stick approach, saying that taxing high emissions purchases is a good tactic to discourage them.

From an infrastructure perspective, Nimbyism is so often associated with challenges in constructing large projects, but the UK public’s mindsets have softened for green technology. 71 per cent of rural voters say they’d be happy to have a wind farm within three miles of their home. The more sceptical suggest a fair compromise; you can build them, but we’d like a discount on energy bills for the inconvenience.

PwC is exploring how different taxes could help, and the advantages and trade-offs involved.