Revenue 99
5.80 Motor vehicle taxes (11451) include taxes on
the use of motor vehicles or permission to use motor
vehicles. It does not include taxes on motor vehicles
as property or net wealth or tolls for use of roads,
bridges, and tunnels.
5.81 Other taxes on use of goods and on permis-
sion to use goods or perform activities (11452) in-
clude business and professional licenses that consist of
taxes paid by enterprises in order to obtain a license
to carry on a particular kind of business or profession
and taxes payable by individuals to perform certain ac-
tivities. Included in this tax category are the following:
- General business taxes or licenses levied in a
fi xed amount, on a schedule according to the
kind of business, or on the basis of various indi-
cators such as fl oor space, installed horsepower,
capital, or shipping tonnage would be included.
It would not cover business taxes levied on gross
sales, which would be classifi ed under general
taxes on goods and services (1141). - Taxes or licenses for particular kinds of busi-
nesses including permission to sell goods or pro-
vide services may be levied at regular intervals,
on a one-time basis, or each time goods are used.
Business licenses payable by enterprises are in-
cluded, such as for taxi, casino, mining, exploita-
tion of land and subsoil assets, or broadcasting.
Th is category also includes all cases where gov-
ernment issues licenses to limit the number of
units operating in a particular fi eld where the
limit is fi xed arbitrarily and is not dependent on
qualifying criteria. When government restricts
the number of cars entitled to operate as taxis or
limits the number of casinos permitted by issu-
ing licenses, they are in eff ect creating monopoly
profi ts for the approved operators and recover-
ing some of the profi ts as the fee. Th ese license
fees should also be recorded as taxes in this cat-
egory. In principle, if the license is valid for sev-
eral years, the payment should be recorded on
an accrual basis with an entry in other accounts
payable (3308) for the amount of the prepayment
of license fees covering future years. However,
if government does not recognize a liability to
repay the licensee in the case of a cancellation,
the whole of the fee payable is recorded as a sin-
gle tax payment at the time it is paid.- Taxes on pollution levied on the emission or dis-
charge into the environment of noxious gases,
liquids, or other harmful substances are included.
On an accrual basis, the revenue receivable for
emission permits, issued by governments under
cap and trade schemes, should be recorded in
this category at the time the emissions occur.
No revenue should be recorded for permits that
government issues free of charge. Th e timing
diff erence between the cash received by govern-
ment for the permits and the time the emission
occurs constitutes a prepaid tax and gives rise
to a fi nancial liability (other accounts payable)
for government. Th e diff erence between the
prepaid tax value of the permit and the market
value of the permit represents a marketable con-
tract (nonproduced nonfi nancial asset) for the
holder (see paragraphs A4.48–A4.49). Amounts
payable to government for the collection and
disposal of waste or noxious substances are ex-
cluded from this tax category as they constitute
a sale of services, recorded as sales of goods and
services (142). - Taxes in this category other than business and
professional licenses include taxes payable by per-
sons or households for licenses for recreational
hunting, shooting, or fi shing, and taxes on the
ownership of pets when the amount payable is not
commensurate with the administrative cost. Th ey
also include radio and television licenses payable
by viewers, unless the public authorities provide
general broadcasting services, in which case a
service payment, rather than a tax, is recorded.
Table 5.4 Detailed Classifi cation of Taxes on Use
of Goods and on Permission to Use
Goods or Perform Activities (1145)
1145 Taxes on use of goods and on permission to
use goods or perform activities
11451 Motor vehicle taxes^1
11452 Other taxes on use of goods and on
permission to use goods or perform
activities^1
114521 Business and professional licenses^1
114522 Pollution taxes^1
114523 Radio and television licenses^1
114524 Licenses and permits for households^1
114525 Other taxes on the use of goods and
on permission to use goods or perform
activities not elsewhere classifi ed^1(^1) Further breakdown/“of which” lines could allow for the identi-
fi cation of specifi c goods or activities, and how these taxes relate
to specifi c natural resources or environmental taxes.