tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473166537823294555.post5369635183645282003..comments2023-11-02T06:04:23.552-04:00Comments on Back to the Drawing Board: Some Thoughts on the Cost of a Carbon TaxDannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14933199894935324897noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473166537823294555.post-86537935894632826242009-04-12T12:06:00.000-04:002009-04-12T12:06:00.000-04:00Hi Dennis; thanks for stopping by! I definitely a...Hi Dennis; thanks for stopping by! I definitely agree that we should be wary about any plan that gives government the right to tax us on the condition that we'll get the money back, since governments are notorious for doing the first part and then finding a way around the second part. I hoped to allude to that in my post when I said, "Things are a little more complicated with real governments who never actually do things like returning all the money..." but you're absolutely right to draw attention to this point.<BR/><BR/>But I think you make an important observation when you note that when one tax is abolished, another tax is increased to make up for the gap. It seems to me that the proponents of a carbon tax aren't seeking to decrease revenue for the government; their point is that this is the kind of tax they'd want to raise, and so now we can look for other taxes that we want to abolish. I am definitely cynical about the possibility that this will be done effectively, rather than the policy being used to open the door to even more government involvement in our lives. But that seems like a very different kind of argument than the one that I addressed in this post.Dannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14933199894935324897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473166537823294555.post-5875278636738613812009-04-12T06:18:00.000-04:002009-04-12T06:18:00.000-04:00Unfortunately I know my government (The Netherland...Unfortunately I know my government (The Netherlands) longer then today. They begin with a promise to shift the tax burden but end up with a permantly slowly increasing co2 tax while the promised tax cuts never show. You only have to look at other "consuming taxes" like gasoline or cigarette excise duty's.<BR/><BR/>In my 24 years I have seen 1 or 2 taxes abolished, but they are always compensated by raising a other tax.<BR/><BR/>New taxes from 2008 (translated from Dutch)<BR/><BR/>2008: The CO2 tax;<BR/>2008: The general tax credit (tax rebate) is abolished;<BR/>1 July, 2008: The flight loads;<BR/>1 May, 2008: The package tax;<BR/>1 February, 2008: The Big Car tax;<BR/>The Labour Discount is reduced;<BR/>The combination discount is reduced;<BR/>The addition for the lease car is up to 25%.<BR/>The cooperating deduction (for self-employed) will be abolished;<BR/>The eigenwoningforfait (tax on your home) is up;<BR/>The deductibility of health insurance is eliminated;<BR/>There is a tax on pension savings of the elderly (aged fee);<BR/>The car tax goes up;<BR/>There is a new tax on airline tickets (flight fee), scrapped again for 2009.<BR/>There is a new tax on amusement parks (Efteling fee);<BR/>The groundwater tax rises;<BR/>The energy tax goes up;<BR/>The gaming tax goes up;<BR/>Tobacco tax goes up;<BR/>Alcohol taxes will increase;<BR/>Diesel tax rises;<BR/>LPG tax rises.Ewthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07456828710969055548noreply@blogger.com