Green Tax Reform

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Discussion

Earth Rights:

"Taxation not only raises money to fund government services, it also reflects the overall value system of a society. The goal of green tax policy is to create a system of public finance which strengthens and maximize incentives for:

  • Fair distribution of wealth
  • Environmental protection
  • Basic needs production
  • Provision of adequate government services
  • Peaceful resolution of territorial conflicts

Green tax reform makes a clear distinction between private property and common property. Private property is that which is created by labor. Common property is that which is provided by nature. Green tax policy removes taxes from wages and other private property and increases taxes and user fees on common property. Reducing taxes on labor increases purchasing capacity, reducing taxes on capital encourages efficiency. Shifting taxes to land and resources curbs speculation and private profiteering in our common property and is a practical way to conserve and fairly share the earth.

Captured in brief soundbites:

  • tax waste, not work;
  • tax bads, not goods;
  • pay for what you take, not what you make;
  • and polluter pays

become tax shift principles readily translated into voter friendly policy recommendations with broadbased political support.


Green tax policy CUTS taxes on:

  • Wages and earned income
  • Productive and sustainable capital
  • Sales, especially for basic necessities
  • Homes and other buildings


Green tax policy INCREASES taxes and fees on:

  • Land sites according to land value
  • Lands used for timber, grazing, mining
  • Emissions into air, water, or soil
  • Ocean and freshwater resources
  • Electromagnetic spectrum
  • Satellite orbital zones
  • Oil and minerals

Green tax policy seeks to ELIMINATE subsidies environmentally or socially harmful, unnecessary, or inequitable.

Slated for drastic reduction or complete removal are subsidies for:

  • Energy production
  • Resource extraction
  • Commerce and industry
  • Agriculture and forestry
  • Weapons of mass destruction

(http://www.earthrights.net/docs/greentax.html)