Energy And Tax Policy

The United States face enormous challenges in the energy area. Climate change, biofuels policy, energy security and environmental degradation are all intimately bound up with energy production and consumption. Historically, the federal government has relied on tax subsidies to effect energy policy. With mounting federal deficits, policymakers and advocates are increasingly calling for a rethinking of our energy tax policy. How can the federal tax code strengthen environmental policy and reduce security concerns in the area of energy? The authors tackle such difficult problems as climate change, efficient taxation of oil and gas, and optimal oil tax policy in a world with OPEC oil producers dominating world oil supply. This volume presents a number of innovative policy suggestions backed by sophisticated and cutting-edge research carried out by leading scholars in the area of energy taxation.

When taxes are introduced on carbon and energy, and the revenue is used to reduce other taxes, will a positive effect be achieved both for the environment and for the economy? In 1990 Finland was the first country to introduce a tax on CO2. Later, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Slovenia, Germany and the UK followed suit with tax reforms that shifted taxation from labour to carbon and energy. Over the years, CO2 and energy taxes have gradually been raised, so that in Europe taxes of more than 25 billion Euros a year have been shifted. This book examines carbon-energy taxation in detail and looks at tax shifting programmes for lowering other taxes. It offers extensive analysis on the basis of historical data and seeks to answer important questions for policy-making, such as: What was the impact of tax shifting for economic performance and competitiveness? By how much were emissions of CO2 reduced? Could energy-intensive industries cut further down on their fuel demand or did they loose market shares? To what extent was there 'leakage' from Europe, so that production and CO2 emissions were shifted to other countries or regions without CO2-abatement policy? The use of unique and original data, including sector-specific energy prices and taxes, as well as the use of advanced statistical techniques, such as co-integration analysis and panel-regression techniques along with the time-series estimated macro-economic model E3ME, make this a truly comprehensive volume. On the basis of the lessons learned in Europe, this volume indicates how carbon-energy taxation could usefully be combined with emissions trading, and discusses implications for future international climate policy, including how the IPCC recommendations for a gradual escalation in carbon price could be accomplished while preventing carbon leakage.

Energy tax policy involves the use of one of the government's main fiscal instruments, taxes (both as an incentive and as a disincentive) to alter the allocation or configuration of energy resources and their use. In theory, energy taxes and subsidies, like tax policy instruments in general, are intended either to correct a problem or distortion in the energy markets or to achieve some economic (efficiency, equity, or even macroeconomic) objective. In practice, however, energy tax policy in the United States is made in a political setting, being determined by the views and interests of the key players in this setting: politicians, special interest groups, bureaucrats, academic scholars, and fiscal dictates. As a result, enacted tax policy embodies compromises between economic and political goals, which could either mitigate or compound existing distortions. This book explores the role of taxes in energy production and conservation.

"The United States faces enormous challenges in the energy area. Climate change, biofuels policy, energy security, and environmental degradation are all intimately bound up with energy production and consumption. Historically, the federal government has relied on tax subsidies to effect energy policy. With mounting federal deficits, policy makers and advocates are increasingly calling for a rethinking of our energy tax policy. How can the federal tax code strengthen environmental policy and reduce security concerns in the area of energy? This book brings together leading tax scholars to answer this question. The authors tackle such difficult problems as climate change, efficient taxation of oil and gas, and optimal oil tax policy in a world in which OPEC oil producers dominate the world oil supply. This volume presents a number of innovative policy suggestions backed by sophisticated and cutting-edge research carried out by leading scholars in the area of energy taxation. Scholars and policy makers alike will appreciate the incisive analysis and discussion of critical issues that are part of the energy challenge in the twenty-first century"--Provided by publisher.

Study describing energy tax regimes of selected OECD countries to discover why and how energy is taxed. Country case studies include Australia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, USA. It highlights issues faced by governments considering new energy taxes as a way to affect energy consumption and energy-related pollution.

Tax Law and the Environment: A Multidisciplinary and Worldwide Perspective takes a multidisciplinary approach to explore the ways how tax policy can is used solve environmental problems throughout the world, using a multi-jurisdictional and multidisciplinary approach. Environmental taxation involves using taxes to impose a cost on environmentally harmful activities or tax subsidies to provide preferred tax treatment to more sustainable alternatives to those harmful activities. This book provides a detailed analysis of environmental taxation, with examples from around the world. As the extraction, processing and use of energy use resources is has been a major cause of environmental harm, this book explores the taxation and subsidization of both fossil fuels and renewable energy. Its analysis of the past, present, and future potential of environmental taxation will help policymakers move economies toward sustainability, as well as and informing students, academics, and citizens about tax solutions for pressing environmental issues.