9.

The preamble to Ley 15/2012, de 27 de diciembre, de medidas fiscales para la sostenibilidad energética (Law 15/2012 of 27 December 2012 on fiscal measures for sustainable energy ( 4 )), provides: ‘I. The objective of this Law is to adapt our tax system to more efficient and environmentally friendly use and sustainable development ... … The basic foundation of this Law is Article 45 of the Constitution, a provision in which the protection of our environment becomes one of the guiding principles of social and economic policies. Thus, one of the axes of this tax reform is to internalise the environmental costs resulting from electricity production and from the storage of spent nuclear fuel or radioactive waste. In this way, [this] Law must serve as a stimulus to improve our levels of energy efficiency while at the same time ensuring better management of natural resources and continuing to enhance the new model of sustainable development, both from an economic and social point of view, as well as from an environmental point of view. … To this end, this Act regulates three new taxes: the tax on the value of electricity production, the tax on the production of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste resulting from the generation of nuclear power, and the tax on the storage of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in centralised facilities... III. … The production of electricity using nuclear energy implies the acceptance by society of a number of burdens and obligations, due to the particular characteristics of this type of energy, whose economic impact is difficult to determine. Society must assume a wide range of responsibilities resulting from specific aspects of this production, such as the management of the radioactive waste generated and the possible use of materials for non-peaceful purposes. … The assessment of the total cost of decommissioning nuclear power plants and the final management of radioactive waste still present significant uncertainties that will ultimately affect society after the cessation of operation of nuclear power plants, in particular with regard to the final management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. Thus, given the long life span of some radioactive waste, which extends over generations, it is essential to establish, after its final management, the necessary measures to prevent an external agent from causing its release into the environment or any other adverse effects, which will require long-term institutional monitoring, which will be the responsibility of the State. Another distinctive feature of the nuclear power industry is the use and production of materials that must be strictly controlled in order to avoid their use for non-peaceful purposes or any other type of malicious act affecting them, which forces Spain … to assume the consequent responsibilities and, therefore, to provide resources to deal with them. Thus, the State must provide the necessary resources to keep existing nuclear emergency plans operational. In view of the above, it is appropriate to establish a levy on the production of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in nuclear installations and on their storage in central facilities in order to offset the costs that the society has to bear as a result of this production. …’