CONSUMPTION AND ENERGY TAXES
AN IMPORTANT OPTION FOR U.S. DEFICIT REDUCTION
The World Future Fund does not have an exact position on this subject but we do feel strongly that we need to raise both private and public investment in this country.
Simply cutting spending and raising taxes across the board could make matters worse, not better.
What we need to do is increase incentives for investments while raising taxes on consumption. In particular, we favor rises in energy taxes to protect both our national security and the security of our planet's environmental foundations of life.
America has a long way to go here. We are the only modern state that has no national sales tax or value added tax (a variation of a national sales tax). Meanwhile our gasoline taxes are ridiculously low by international standards..
We favor implementing some version of these consumption taxes on a gradual basis. We also favor actions that would alleviate the burden on low income people. More will be added on these subjects later.
INTERNATIONAL GAS TAX RATES
Shows the ridiculously low level of U.S. gas taxes. (Note this is in
liters, not gallons.)
CARBON TAX
Note:
For calculation purposes, we assume the cost of carbon dioxide to be
about $20 per ton, a price consistent with both European carbon markets
and independent analysis conducted in the United States (1)
- The Carbon
Tax Center's carbon tax proposal: (2)
Tax Rate: Year 1 ($12.50) Year 2 ($25) Year 3 ($37.5) Revenue (billions) $68.2 $132.8 $193.7
GASOLINE TAX
- An increase in the National Gasoline Tax to $1 per gallon would raise over $140 Billion annually. (4)
NATIONAL SALES TAX
- Value Added Taxes (VAT): 1 percent broad-based VAT would yield approximately $37.8 billion USD for each percentage point levied. (3)
Carbon Tax Links:
Carbon Tax Center - Pricing Carbon Efficiently and Equitably
Forbes - Calculating the True Price of Carbon (1)
Carbon Tax Center - 4-Sector Carbon Tax Model (xls file) (2)
Princeton University Economics Professor Alan S. Blinder - The Miracle Carbon Tax Cure
Value-Added Tax Links:
Tax Policy Center - Value-added tax (3)
National Center for Policy Analysis - Benefits of Tax Reform
Economy In Crisis - The Benefits of Our Own Value Added Tax
Gasoline Tax Links:
Tax Policy Center - International Comparison of Gasoline taxes
New York Times - Real Men Tax Gas (4)
AFL-CIO and Senators Ask for a Gas Tax Increase, Senators Agree
Washington Post - Tax Truth