Quote:
Originally Posted by dmacc
If we all get our money back then why tax us on it in the first place?
You are right, government regulation on industry would be passed on to consumers, but so will this carbon tax. So implementing it as a tax shows me that the government just wants to profit off of it. Tax incentives result in the government agreeing to take less of your money if you show you are spending your money in a sustainable way. The government doesn't give you money, they just tax you less.
Half of Winnipeg's emissions come from vehicles (1/3 from private cars), offering the ability to claim a portion of the purchase of a Hybrid/Electric car up to $45,000 would help encourage the transition. Also allowing people who buy bikes and bus passes to claim the total amount would also help. You can encourage people to change by making it a positive to change in stead of punishing those who don't change.
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Yeah but a lot of the time being sustainable means just not making a purchase or buying less of something, how do you provide a tax incentive when there's no money being spent? If a guy decides to start walking to work there's no way to reward that. Somebody decides to eat less meat and lower their carbon footprint - are we gonna give tax breaks for all produce purchases? Also getting money back on your taxes is nice but how much does it factor in to the decision the consumer makes at that very moment, knowing they'll get xx% of it back a year later? People look at the sticker price.
There's no way to properly incentivize all low-carbon activities, but slap a tax on it and you can instantly create a negative incentive for everything carbon-intensive. Even things like where people buy their homes. If gas is pricey people might think twice about that McMansion out in the boonies where they have to drive 50km to work and back each day. I'd love to see how you put together a tax break scheme that rewards people for living closer to work or in a walkable neighbourhood, or for buying a smaller house with lower heating costs, etc. If you reward people for putting a more efficient furnace in their giant home you're really just encouraging more consumption - how would you reward someone for just buying a smaller home with less space to heat?