A green tax shift is a fiscal policy which lowers the taxes on income including wages and profit, and raises taxes on consumption, particularly the unsustainable consumption of non-renewable resources. Fiscal Policy is the economic term which describes the actions of a governmetn in setting the level of public expenditure and how that expenditure is funded. ... A tax is a compulsory charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (e. ... Income, generally defined, is the money that is received as a result of the normal business activities of an individual or a business. ... Consumption is the using up of a resource. ... Sustainability is a systemic concept, relating to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society. ...

Examples of taxes to be lowered by a green tax shift:

• payroll and income taxes.

Examples of taxes to be implemented or increased: In the United States, payroll tax is tax that pays for two social insurance systems: Medicare and Social Security. ... The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ...

• Carbon taxes on the use of fossil fuels;
• Taxes on the extraction of mineral, energy, and forestry products;
• Licence fees for fishing and hunting;
• Specific taxes on technologies and products which are associated with substantial negative externalities;
• Garbage disposal taxes;
• Taxes on effluents, emissions and other hazardous wastes.

Tax shifting may include balancing taxation levels to be revenue-neutral for government, industry or consumer groups. A carbon tax is a tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. ... Coal rail cars in Ashtabula, Ohio Fossil fuels, also known as mineral fuels, are hydrocarbon-containing natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. ... This article is about minerals in the geologic sense; for nutrient minerals see dietary mineral; for the band see Mineral (band). ... A dense growth of softwoods (a forest) in the Sierra Nevada Range of Northern California A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, a wooded area set aside for hunting). ... A television licence is an official licence required in some countries for all owners of a television receiver. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... Technology (Gr. ... An externality occurs in economics when a decision (for example, to pollute the atmosphere) causes costs or benefits to individuals or groups other than the person making the decision. ... Waste management is literally the process of managing waste materials (normally those produced as a result of human activities). ... Hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment and generally exhibits one or more of these characteristics: ignitability corrosivity reactivity (explosive) toxicity Generally, toxicity is quantified through the use of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure or TCLP test, as required by EPA... In economics, consumers are individuals or households that consume goods and services generated within the economy. ...

Taxes on consumption may take the feebate approach advocated by Amory Lovins in which additional fees on less sustainable products — such as sport utility vehicles — are pooled to fund rebates on more sustainable alternatives — such as hybrid electric vehicles. A feebate is a transportation finance initiative imposed by government that charges users of socially undesirable items (e. ... Amory Bloch Lovins (born November 13, 1947 in Washington, DC) is an American physicist, co-CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute, and author and co-author of books which make arguments for and popularize energy-efficiency principles to public and corporate audiences. ... A sport utility vehicle (SUV) or off-roader, known in some countries as a four wheel drive, (often abbreviated to 4WD or 4x4 - pronounced four-by-four) or soft roaders, is a type of passenger vehicle which combines the load-hauling and passenger-carrying capacity of a large station wagon... Rebates, also known as mail-in rebates, are primarily used as incentives or supplements to product sales. ... A hybrid car or hybrid electric vehicle is a vehicle which relies not only on batteries but also on an internal combustion engine which drives a generator to provide the electricity and may also drive the wheels directly. ...

The object of a green tax shift is often to implement a "full cost accounting", using fiscal policy to internalize market distorting externalities, which leads to higher efficiency and sustainable wealth creation. The concept wealth usually refers to money and property. ...

The green tax shift has been criticized as being a regressive tax as it taxes consumption rather than income and as it is contrary to the concept of progressive taxation as it does not distinguish between rich and poor. A regressive tax is a tax which takes a larger percentage of income from people whose income is low. ... A progressive tax, or graduated tax, is a tax that is larger as a percentage of income for those with larger incomes. ...

Green tax shifts enacted

A green tax shift has been enacted in Germany by means of three laws in 1998, 1999 and 2002. The first introduced a tax on electricity and petroleum, at variable rates based on environmental considerations; renewable sources of electricity are not taxed. The second adjusted the taxes to favor efficient conventional power plants. The third increased the tax on petroleum. At the same time, income taxes were reduced proportionally so that the total tax burden remained constant. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ...

See also

• Energy Tax Act
• Green politics
• Nuclear power phase-out
• Free-market environmentalism
• Pigovian tax

The Energy Tax Act (Public Law 95-318) was a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1978 as part of the National Energy Act. ... Green politics is a body of political ideas informed by environmentalism aimed at developing a sustainable society. ... // A nuclear power plant at Grafenrheinfeld, Germany. ... Free market environmentalism is an ideology that argues the free market is the best tool to preserve the health and sustainability of the environment. ... A Pigovian tax is a tax levied to correct the negative social side-effects of an activity. ...

External link

• Redefining Progress