Energy Tax Policy And Tax Reform

Energy tax policy and tax reform : joint hearing before the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures and Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, first session, September 22, 2011.

This paper recommends a system of upstream taxes on fossil fuels, combined with refunds for downstream emissions capture, to reduce carbon and local pollution emissions. Motor fuel taxes should also account for congestion and other externalities associated with vehicle use, at least until mileage-based taxes are widely introduced. An examination of existing energy/environmental tax systems in Germany, Sweden, Turkey, and Vietnam suggests that there is substantial scope for policy reform. This includes harmonizing taxes for pollution content across different fuels and end-users, better aligning tax rates with values for externalities, and scaling back taxes on vehicle ownership and electricity use that are redundant (on environmental grounds) in the presence of more targeted taxes.

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.

This report investigates how tax structures can best be designed to support GDP per capita growth.

A number of energy tax provisions expired at the end of 2014. Expired provisions include those that support renewable electricity (the production tax credit (PTC)), provisions that support energy efficiency in both residential and commercial buildings, and tax credits for certain biofuels and other alternative fuels. Like the 113th Congress, the 114th Congress may choose to address expired energy tax provisions. The Tax Increase Prevention Act (P.L. 113-295), enacted late in the 113th Congress, temporarily extended, through 2014, most expired energy tax provisions. Energy tax policy may also be considered as part of comprehensive tax reform legislation in the 114th Congress. A base-broadening approach to tax reform might consider the elimination of various energy tax expenditures in conjunction with a reduction in overall tax rates. This was the approach taken in the Tax Reform Act of 2014 (H.R. 1), introduced late in the 113th Congress by then-Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camp. Alternative revenue sources, such as a carbon tax, may also be evaluated as part of the tax reform process. The Obama Administration has also proposed a number of changes to energy tax policy as part of its annual budget proposal. In the past, the Administration has proposed repealing a number of existing tax incentives for fossil fuels, while providing new or expanded incentives for alternative and advanced technology vehicles, renewable electricity, energy efficiency, and advanced energy manufacturing. 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. The economic rationale for government intervention in energy markets is commonly based on the government's perceived ability to correct for market failures. Market failures, such as externalities, principal-agent problems, and informational asymmetries, result in an economically inefficient allocation of resources-in which society does not maximize well-being. To correct for these market failures governments can utilize several policy options, including taxes, subsidies, and regulation, in an effort to achieve policy goals. In practice, energy tax policy in the United States is made in a political setting, determined by fiscal dictates and the views and interests of the key players in this setting, including policy makers, special interest groups, and academic scholars. As a result, enacted tax policy embodies compromises between economic and political goals, which could either mitigate or compound existing distortions.

Most OECD countries have introduced various ecotaxes, but only a few are implementing comprehensive green tax reforms. This report reviews the 1997 situation and the lessons which can be drawn e.g. as to the competitiveness, social equity and employment implications of green taxes.