Optimal Design of Transport Tax on the Way to National Security: Balancing Environmental Footprint, Energy Efficiency and Economic Growth

To ensure the progress of sustainable development and overcome threats to national security, the development of tools for balancing ecological, economic and energy aspects of economic activity acquires special importance. This study is related to the influence of choosing different functional elements of transport taxes on their effectiveness in ensuring national security. For calculations, panel regression modelling with panel-adjusted standard errors based on the use of the Durbin–Watson test using dummy variables was chosen. The assessment involves the selection of the main factor variable (tax revenues from transport taxes, as well as an additional dummy variable) and compliance with a country’s transport taxation system, with a certain criterion for its application. The resulting criterion was chosen as an integral indicator of national security, which summarizes the parameters of environmental footprints, economic growth, energy efficiency and security. Calculations were made for nine countries (i.e., the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey) for the period 1996–2019. The calculations proved that the establishment of transport taxes, depending on the type and weight of the car, increases their effectiveness on ensuring national security or, depending on the cost and age of the car, weakens such effectiveness. The use of emissions generated by the car, its capacity and its type of fuel requires additional research; the obtained results did not allow for unambiguously determining their impact on the effectiveness of transport taxes. The conducted research forms the basis for choosing the optimal design of transport taxes to ensure the maximization of their regulatory effectiveness. The developed approach can be extended to evaluate the effectiveness of other environmental taxes.