What environmental taxes would you introduce if you were 'in charge'?

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A huge tax on private jets, so huge that it wouldn't actually be cost effective to own one.

Nobody, but nobody, needs a private jet. Presumably the number of units fuel used :persons carried ratio is much higher for a private jet. Now of course the same applies to cars vs buses and trains, but car owners are not only far more numerous, so any legislation or massive increase in tax on car ownership would be a massive vote loser, but also many ppl can justifiably say that a car is essential to their work, or they are too old or immobile to use public transport or that public transport doesn't go near where they live. None of these arguments work in the case of private jets.

― Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 29 March 2007 09:17 (eighteen years ago)

If I was "in charge" I wouldn't be fucking about with lickle tax changes.

― Noodle Vague, Thursday, 29 March 2007 09:30 (eighteen years ago)

wouldn't you? go on....

― Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 29 March 2007 09:36 (eighteen years ago)

Seize control of the means of production, innit? Also, show trials.

― Noodle Vague, Thursday, 29 March 2007 09:39 (eighteen years ago)

ok for the non-dictators among you.....

― Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 29 March 2007 09:39 (eighteen years ago)

The question posits dictatorial powers, surely? I wouldn't actually want to be "in charge".

Anyway, the answer is something along the lines of not introducing taxes which discriminate against poorer people by taking disproportionate chunks of their income. And show trials.

― Noodle Vague, Thursday, 29 March 2007 09:41 (eighteen years ago)

Noodle OTM. We've talked about this on another thread but I don't think tax changes will really do a whole lot other than cripple development. It's about lobbying for a serious push for environmental research and finding ways in which to reverse climate change.

Since we're on the subject, we're told to switch off and unplug appliances when not in use - has someone invented an energy saving plug that stops you having to do this? It sounds like it would be very simple and it would save everyone nearly electrocuting themselves every time they plug their phone charger in.

― the next grozart, Thursday, 29 March 2007 10:31 (eighteen years ago)

Is something like a flat 25% tax on all goods deemed both luxury and environmentally unfriendly feasible? It'd be a nightmare delineating what is and what isn't a luxury obv.

― Mark C, Thursday, 29 March 2007 10:37 (eighteen years ago)

nigh on impossible.

do you like my private jet idea? why should private jets exist?

what about carrots rather than sticks: abolish VAT on videoconferencing equipment and give tax breaks to multinationals which eschew all air travel twixt their sites in favour of videoconferening?

― Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 29 March 2007 10:53 (eighteen years ago)

a scheme which enables airlines to 'rent out' their empty seats to other companies to ensure that all seats on planes are occupied and no planes fly carrying nowt but air?

and tax those airlines more severely if they don't join the scheme?

ppl can say "let's develop celaner fuels blah blah blah" but that takes decades of research: we need something done now.

― Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 29 March 2007 10:56 (eighteen years ago)

VAT on video conferencing equipment would not matter as companies offset that against the VAT they charge for their services.

― Ed, Thursday, 29 March 2007 10:56 (eighteen years ago)

A two-pronged carrot-stick interface offensive is clearly the way forward.

Private jets seem an obvious yes. However, what if businessmen did a carpooling thing with their private jets? Could that get around your tax clampdown?

― Mark C, Thursday, 29 March 2007 10:57 (eighteen years ago)

I can think of a lot of people who need private planes.

I hate thinking about this when you consider the expenditure, resource-consumption and environmental effects of numerous large-scale military operations around the world that will continue regardless of any attempts to curtail leisure and business travel.

― blueski, Thursday, 29 March 2007 11:13 (eighteen years ago)

blueski otm. It's a bit rich to start charging people even more for their once-annual summer holiday. I know charity begins at home and all that, but taxing airlines for personal use isn't going to do anything other than make profit for the taxers.

― the next grozart, Thursday, 29 March 2007 11:23 (eighteen years ago)

I can think of a lot of people who need private planes.

NAME ONE!

you are right about the military tho.

― Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 29 March 2007 11:30 (eighteen years ago)

I assume heads of state fly by private jet? Putting them in with the proles would be a big old security risk, as well as being just silly.

― The Wayward Johnny B, Thursday, 29 March 2007 11:59 (eighteen years ago)

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