[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> If carbon taxes are such a non-brainer, why are they hardly used?
There was an attempt in this direction, the "fuel tax escalator" of the
previous Conservative administration in the UK, eventually abandoned a
few years ago under Labour. It only taxed transport fuel, of course. It
was brought down by a campaign of civil disobedience from a small number
of lorry-drivers and farmers, the latter who weren't even affected by
it, but who have a radical right-wing core which was eager to jump on a
bandwagon that they thought might bring down the Labour govt.
The press in the UK has a strong dependence on advertising from the car
industry, so was hardly likely to talk about the advantages of a
long-term well-signposted shift in taxation strategy.
Nevertheless, it would be remiss to ignore the fact that the tax which
is supposedly "very modest in its effects for transportation" might well
be a significant factor in explaining the remarkable difference in
efficiency of motor vehicles between the USA and most of the rest of the
developed world.
Fuel taxes tend to be regressive, and no-one would claim they are the
whole answer. But there is unlikely to be any magic bullet that solves
all the problems in one go. A lot of nudges in the right direction might
be more realistic.
James
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