Barbara Bell reviews the Budget 2011 Tax Proposals
Chancellor Osborne made a bold statement last week when he announced the coalition’s determination to be the ‘greenest government ever’. Indeed many of the Budget announcements and re-announcements were tinged with green but perhaps the Chancellor’s most telling statement for those who follow the development of environmental taxation was that ‘green taxes will increase as a proportion of our total tax revenues’.
Why not many will say if taxation must be increased is it not reasonable to use it to drive down environmentally harmful behaviour? Few would disagree with this broad principle but the trick is to design taxes that remedy environmental harm without creating unintended environmental social or economic consequences. So for example the much-threatened plastic bag levy seems to have been abandoned in the UK because of the experience of Ireland where...
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Barbara Bell reviews the Budget 2011 Tax Proposals
Chancellor Osborne made a bold statement last week when he announced the coalition’s determination to be the ‘greenest government ever’. Indeed many of the Budget announcements and re-announcements were tinged with green but perhaps the Chancellor’s most telling statement for those who follow the development of environmental taxation was that ‘green taxes will increase as a proportion of our total tax revenues’.
Why not many will say if taxation must be increased is it not reasonable to use it to drive down environmentally harmful behaviour? Few would disagree with this broad principle but the trick is to design taxes that remedy environmental harm without creating unintended environmental social or economic consequences. So for example the much-threatened plastic bag levy seems to have been abandoned in the UK because of the experience of Ireland where...
If you or your firm subscribes to Taxjournal.com, please click the login box below:
If you do not subscribe but are a registered user, please enter your details in the following boxes:
