Several international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations (UN), and World Bank recommend that policymakers implement an environmental tax to reduce climate change, protect the environment and gain more income for governments. Effectiveness of the policy depends on a carefully designed framework, which essentially adopts the social and economic contextual of a country and public support. Researchers have been focusing on examining the factors that influence public acceptance of an environmental tax. This paper aims to systematically review the empirical studies using the RepOrting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) protocol. The information is relevant for policy makers in designing a feasible and acceptable carbon tax policy. Furthermore, the paper provides suggestions for future research. Related articles were selected using two leading databases, namely Scopus and Science Direct, and one supporting database, namely Google Scholar. Thematic analysis was conducted on 60 articles and four main themes were derived with 32 subthemes. The analysis indicates that people are more supportive when they (i) are well informed about a policy’s effectiveness and the policy content, particularly the use of revenue, (ii) have high trust in the government, (iii) have a positive attitude toward protecting the environment, (iv) perceive the policy is fair in terms of costs distribution and social sharing, and (v) are concerned about the climate change issue.

Malaysia has a long history of environmental issues. The Malaysian government has implemented deterrent and supportive strategies to reduce the issue by penalising polluters and providing tax incentives to encourage green technology developments. However, these strategies are ineffective since the number of pollution issues keeps increasing, and the Malaysia Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2020 score has dropped. Many countries have implemented carbon tax to mitigate some environmental issues following the recommendation by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The carbon tax has proven to be an effective strategy not only to reduce environmental problems but also to increase government revenues. This conceptual paper aims to give a brief review of literature for future studies in implementing a carbon tax policy in Malaysia. It is hoped that the findings will assist the Malaysian government in implementing a carbon tax policy to reduce environmental issues and as a strategy to widen its tax base.

This study investigates public personal traits and demographic factors influencing their acceptance of the implementation of carbon tax policy in Malaysia. Understanding the public’s acceptance behaviour becomes crucial as carbon tax gains attention in developing countries. Through an online survey of 566 respondents, the research employs multiple regression analysis, t-test and one-way analysis of variance to examine the relationships. The results indicate that the carbon tax policy receives positive support from the public, who perceive carbon tax as an effective policy to reduce carbon emissions, those willing to pay more to protect the environment, those who recognise climate change as a serious issue and the Chinese community. These findings fill a gap in the environmental taxation literature for developing countries, offering insights for the Malaysian government to formulate effective strategies for public support. It is imperative for the government to consistently disseminate information to the public and create awareness through mass media regarding the serious issue of climate change and the effectiveness of a carbon tax to mitigate it. Regardless of the political party in power, adopting a carbon tax should be prioritised as a national agenda to maintain the country’s economic, social, and environmental sustainability to demonstrate the government’s unwavering commitment.

Trust in government is a significant factor influencing the public acceptability of environmental tax. Without trust, implementing and sustaining a new tax policy is challenging due to public resistance. However, gaining trust from the public is even more challenging in developing countries where corruption is a common issue. Despite the risk of policy rejection, many developing countries, including Malaysia, are adopting the carbon tax as a policy to reduce carbon emissions. This has raised the question of the impact of trust in the government on public acceptability for carbon tax implementation in Malaysia. Another critical concern is identifying the predictors of trust in government, to which researchers have given less attention. Three main features of good governance—accountability, integrity, and competence—were examined as the predictors of trust in government. A nationwide survey in Malaysia was conducted using an online questionnaire, and 566 respondents completed the survey. The data were analysed using the Structural Equation Model (SEM) via Amos. The results show that trust in the government is influenced by the government’s accountability, integrity, and competence. In contrast with many past studies, trust in the government does not influence Malaysian acceptance behaviour. Instead, only the government’s accountability influences the acceptance of carbon tax implementation among the public. The public is concerned about the government’s spending; hence, the government must be transparent in its spending and redistributing the tax revenue to the public must be the top priority to gain public trust in implementing a carbon tax policy.