Vancouver's Fraser Institute says that taxation policies in high-income OECD nations are poorly designed
The carbon tax policies of high-income countries around the world are “poorly designed” according to a new report.
Canada and the other 13 high-income members of the OECD have not implemented well-designed taxation to address the need for a low-carbon economy, the Fraser Institute concludes.
In a report titled ‘Carbon Pricing in High-Income OECD Countries’, co- Elmira Aliakbari, the think-tank’s associate director of natural resource studies, says that none of the countries have used income from carbon taxes to reduce overall tax burdens such as personal income tax and have failed to remove other emission-related regulations or end government subsidies to alternative energy sources.
“Overall, no high-income OECD country with a carbon tax has implemented it based on sound design,” said Aliakbari.
The study found that 74% of the carbon tax revenues in these high-income countries go into the general spending pot with just 12% earmarked for environmental spending and 14% returned to taxpayers.
“Poorly designed carbon taxes, like those in all high-income countries around the world, do not deliver on the promise of cost-effective emissions reduction,” Aliakbari said. “Instead, poorly designed carbon taxes cause serious and harmful economic effects that increase costs, scare away investment, and deter entrepreneurship.”
The study is co-authored by Jairo Yunis.
Check out the latest Fraser Institute study here: https://t.co/5KwFUBILds pic.twitter.com/1rvZV0JLq5
— The Fraser Institute (@FraserInstitute) October 20, 2020
