If you were the Chancellor, what green taxes would you impose?

Like the one already operating in Ireland, I’d have no problem slapping a fee on carrier bags. The money raised could be invested directly in community recycling projects. Then there’s the controversial bin bag tax. As a proud owner of a wormery which cuts the amount of waste I send to landfill, I can’t say I’d be sorry to see my ten-bags-a-week neighbours paying for their habit. But then these days I’m turning into a green bully.
I’d also slip in a tax on those hefty planet warming patio heaters, following it up with a victory dance in the (cooler) garden. A colleague tells me no one dares use them anymore for fear that they’re living next to George Monbiot. So it would be down to pubs and restaurant to stop encouraging people to sit outside on freezing days.
My weakness would be that I’d relish the chance to sting eco-criminals instead of emphasizing how these measures give financial incentives to people who are environmentally responsible.
Would you do the job any better?

Comments

[Malcolm]

Scrap road tax, increase petrol duties with a "R&D tax" to fund development of 1) biofuels / hybrids initially 2) commercialisation of fuel cells 3) upgrade existing fossil fuel distribution network to handle hydrogen feedstock for said fuel cells. Fund R&D so that hydrogen feedstock is non-fossil fuel dependent.
Consideration should be given to the effects on employment and inflation, especially on those lower down the income scales - perhaps they should get credits to buy the new low impact vehicles - or alternative scrap all taxes on these types of vehicles.
Tax utilities so that they fund fusion R&D and also help establish distributed power generation using fuel cell power generators.
Increase landfill tax in order to pay for provision of adequate recycling facilities for paper, tins, glass all plastics, batteries etc at a LOCAL level [walking distance] to reduce on the insanity of having to drive to the nearest centre.
Tax credits funded by tax on goods imported from nations with poor records of human rights / environment / low wages to encourage home generation via solar / fuel cells / wind / heat pumps etc. Use fund to help develop environmentally sustainable maritime propulsion systems.
Increased VAT on energy inefficient goods vs zero rate on energy efficient goods.

[Ivan The Terrible]

Scrap the Labour Government and use Labour MPs salaries and benefits to fund the NHS
Cancel the donations to Afghanistan and Pakistan for Economic Re-Generation and put these funds into the NHS to save hospitals and employ more nurses and doctors.
Lottery funds to be provided to genuine good causes. Lottery Board to consist of independent directors not those connected to the Labour Party.
Stop road building and build better public transport facilites. Take trucks off the roads.
Charge foreign registered vehicles road tax [as Switzerland]

[Peter Heamon]

None. I'd encourage everyone to buy huge cars with V8 engines, just to annoy tofu-munching eco-mentalist lunatics like monbiot.

[ecosrights]

I'm more inclined to say "penalise all" then "benefit the good" - ie charge more for waste collection etc but then compensate / refund those that recycle / have less waste etc. This would help reduce the amount of dumping of waste in public spaces.

I agree that there should be a link between efficiency of cars and electrical goods and the amount of VAT charged. Car tax should be linked to mileage as well as car efficiency - and the difference in cost should be much greater. If someone can afford a fuel guzzling 4x4 they wont bat an eyelid at the extra £100 on their car tax.

There are other areas, such as lighting, where tax should be added not just to the bulbs, but to the fittings themselves - many of these ornate light fittings will only look good with conventional bulbs, so people should be disuaded from buying them.

Then there is paint and other household "chemical" goods - more tax could be placed on those as well

To be honest the list is endless and people need to see a benefit for the extra they are paying. For instance it's essential that the cost of public transport comes down and that the service improves. Dartford has a great local bus service (www.go-fastrack.co.uk) which has had a lot of funding, is cheap to use and reliable. More towns need a solution such as this, and the money should be coming directly from extra car taxes. likewise more out of town car parking (I'm realistic- not all villages can have a great public transport system linking them everywhere) facilities should be provided free, or nearly free, so that people then use the public transport to get to their final destination.

[Mark]

Have a separate 'green' fund, treating green taxes as windfalls, rather than a source of income that the Government comes to rely on.

Massively raise cost of short haul aviation for any outgoing flights, and increase charges for incoming flights.

Increase the tax band for 4x4s, SUVs and the likes to closer to £5,000 per annum, excepting farmers and some in difficult rural areas.

Tax disposable AA/AAA batteries, incandescent lightbulbs, non-recycled metal/cardboard packaging, plastic bags. £1 per battery, £5 per bulb, 2p per bottle/can and 10p per bag should be acceptable.

Similarly, levying punitive taxes on inefficient appliances; C rated appliances should see a 100% extra taxation, D 150%, E 200% etc. Combine this with information on the product over how much extra energy the product would use over an A rated alternative, and what this lifetime cost would be. Any none Condensing, combination or CHP boilers should similarly be punished.

Any new construction work should pay huge excesses for poor environmental practice, and building standards should be strengthened and rigorously enforced.

Similarly, landfill taxes for recyclable material should be punishing for businesses and residences alike.

In these cases, a superior, more energy efficient alternative exists. Any income would be treated as a 'windfall' and be put into the 'green pot', with these funds used only as they become available (although a £1bn green fund to kickstart things wouldn't go amiss). For example; one year, part of the fund could be used to issue every UK citizen with vouchers for 5 CFL bulbs. Any unspent cash from people who didn't take advantage of this would be added to the pot for the next year.

The funds should be used to subsidise energy efficient products, insulation, recycling centres, renewable energy, limited microrenewable (solar water heating seems the only viable UK choice right now), public transport and/or perhaps including hydrogen with our gas heating (some research suggests a mix of 1 part hydrogen to 9 parts gas could work).

With any excess energy from the grid being used to generate hydrogen, less predictable sources like wind could take up a larger share of our energy burden, and the windfall could be used to ensure a safe transition to a purely CCS, nuclear and renewable electricity grid. Combined with improved public transport and private vehicle efficiency, reliance on foreign fuel supplies would be massively reduced and our green aims could be achieved without unavoidably punishing the poorest in our society.

[martin]

Stop giving money to africans and spend it on the less well of in this country...they only waste it.

[Just me]

Stop giving more money to professional mothers!!! I had enough of my tax money going to 15 year old girls with 5 kids out there

[Tim Rutherford-Johnson]

As well as much of the above, I would give businesses incentives for reducing their energy wastage - the desktop computers in my building are so ancient you *aren't allowed* to switch them off at night.

[Peter Heamon]

Tax vegetarians, their diet produces vast amounts of methane - a far worse greenhouse gas than CO2.

Tax socialists, they produce vast quantities of useless hot air.

Tax liberals, similar to the above but worse.

Tax councils who impose nonsensical taxes on motorists.

Tax speed cameras, time is money, the more time spent travelling the less time is spent productively.

Tax buses, they are too big and smelly and get in the way of cars.

Tax cyclists and pedestrians, if motorists didn't have to keep slowing down for these cheapskates then cars would be far more economical.

Tax homosexuals, we are designed to breed in order to further our own race, not mince around becoming fashion designers.

Tax fashion designers, they don't really contribute to society.

Tax motorbikes, after all transport designed for one is so terribly selfish.

Tax anything that smacks of trendyism, such as eco-mentals.

Tax monbiot for being an oxygen thief of the very first order.

[Rick]

After reading the above comments, Gordon Brown doesn't seem so bad after all.

[Anna Shepard]

Ecosrights, yes, I like the idea of taxes on lighting. Anyone buying conventional lightbulbs rather than the energy-saving variety deserves to pay more.
And I agree with Rick, what a terrifying bunch we are. I think Brown can be sure of his seat.

[Mairi]

Gordon Brown's move to exempt stamp duty on zero-carbon homes (temporarily) is a smart one. I reckon it could generate the kinds of thousands of pounds in savings to really influence people's choices.

Suggestions afoot for council tax rebates /reductions for people who take energy efficiency measures in their homes also show a lot of promise. I was chatting with a former Congressman from the US state of Oregon who said such measures were really effective in his state in the '90s.

My view is: nothing motivates like dangling a good cash rebate. See www.climatecounts.blogspot.com for more climate comment.

[A David Rossin]

All clever ideas, but unless you stand up and say we have to build more nuclear power plants, you are not serious about global warming. "Alternatives and conservation" are not going to make much difference in carbon dioxide emissions. So0 either you have not done your energy homework or you have a different agenda.

[Viv]

Increase the tax on power usage. The more energy a company uses, the greater their tax .

Blair, don't get a new submarine. Give up the nuclear weapons- you're just wasting the earth's resources and Britain's money.
Get recycle bins for plastics, and recycle them instead of landfilling them in the UK or underdeveloped countries.

Ban the use of plastic bags in supermarkets. Do what Aussies do, use brown bags made of recycled paper.

Don't use dish washers so often. It takes 12 hours to wash the dishes, and imagine how much water you use? Just give up a bit of your time in watching the TV commercials, and spend 20 minutes to wash up the dishes- as compared to saving Mother Earth, that doesn't waste you a lot of time, does it?

The Government should do more on saving the environment, instead of ignoring Sir Nicholas Stern.

Watch An Incovinient Truth!

[libertyscott]

None. Nobody has made a case for why the government should benefit from people undertaking polluting activities. Is the money collected from Green taxes spent on compensating those suffering from the pollution? Of course not, there is absolutely no link. It is just a new leftwing technique to justify new taxes and bigger government.

Yes pollution is a concern, but only to the extent that it creates victims. Unless the tax directly compensates the victims, it does nothing. Do taxes on fuel help plant trees? Of course not, it just funds government.

Three big steps to reduce net greenhouse gases?

1. Scrap all agricultural subsidies from Brussels. The food miles argument is rubbish, as explained in this week's Economist. Importing dairy products and lamb from New Zealand creates a smaller carbon footprint than producing it locally.

2. Introduce road pricing to replace road tax and fuel duty. Congestion is a chronic waste of fuel, and pricing off half of the congestion will make a positive difference. Public transport will naturally be more competitive, but it will mean people will travel less.

3. Eliminate subsidies on heating and restrictions on electricity companies charging monopoly profits. The prices will go up, but demand will drop. If there are social issues, then deal with those directly, not by distorting the energy market.

[Kit]

I lived in Ireland and IMHO the plastic bag thing doesnt really work. For a start, if I needed one I'd buy one for a few euros. For a second, I use the freebies as household waste bags, no free bags meant I bought them for the bins. Thirdly, they give you these huge paper bags instead - ever seen the destruction forestries inflict on environments? Plastic bags are made of recycled plastic. Also, in Ireland's climate, the things would dissolve half-way home in the rain, spreading my purchases all over the pavement. Last but not least, even the loveliest of places in Ireland (I lived in Dalkey) had a serious dog-poo on the pavements problem. Without placcy bags, how are you going to get pooch-owners to pick the stuff up? It's like a lot of greenie things, looks great on paper but doesn't really work too well in the real world.

[Peter Smart]

1. £10 Tax on each plastic carrier bag.
2. £2,000 per year road tax on private cars over 200 gm/km.
3. £15 million tax per programme on "Top Gear" and other media glorifying the combusion engine and its hosts.
4. £5,000 tax on outdoor gas 'fresh air' heaters.
5. £5,000 tax on every High Street shop that has its double doors wide open throughout winter with heaters just inside the door frantically working to heat the shop. (Ask the satff and they agree with you its mad but they have to follow head office instructions). Attracting custom is killing the earth and their profits.
6. £5 tax on each non-energy-saving light bulb to bring it to the same price as an eco bulb.

...there are more, many more...

Peter

PS. If I was PM I'd force the everyone in Government to read and execute George Monbiot's "instructions" in "HEAT".

[Candy Spillard]

I would get rid of VAT on building refurbishments (because these now make a place more energy-efficient), and impose VAT on new build instead.
This VAT, though, needs to be ring-fenced for particular 'green' projects, e.g. land remediation, afforestation, etc. Otherwise Government would keep on allowing new-build because it likes the money!