Oregon Law: This book provides a detailed analysis of environmental taxation around the world. What are the main similarities and differences you found? Professor Mann: I`ve been writing about the impact of tax and environmental law for 20 years, so I was thinking about an anthology on this topic when a colleague, Tracey Roberts from the Samford School of Law, wrote to me wondering if I would publish a volume on tax law and the environment with her. Since 2002, I have attended the Global Conference on Environmental Taxation almost every year and I know many international scientists who write in this field. With this strong network, it was easy to find experts who could contribute to the book. Professor Roberta Mann`s new book, Tax Law and the Environment: A Multidisciplinary and Worldwide Perspective, is an anthology with co-editor Tracey M. Roberts of Samford University. The book takes a multidisciplinary approach to examining how tax policy can be used to solve environmental problems around the world. Available in both digital and hardcover, this 308-page book was published by Lexington Books in 2018. Professor Mann: Environmental taxation includes measures such as carbon taxes and renewable energy tax credits that promote green action. It could include measures such as fuel taxes, which presumably have objectives other than improving the environment.
A.C. Pigou, an economist of the early 20th century, argued that pollution-generating activities constitute a market failure. In other words, the market price of raw materials such as coal does not reflect the real cost to society in terms of human health and environmental degradation. Pollution is therefore an “external” cost factor that is not borne by the industries that benefit from the activity. Pollution taxation corrects this market failure by internalising the social costs for polluting industries. All types of tax systems – income tax, estate tax, property tax and excise tax – can potentially include environmental tax measures, and all levels of government – local, state and federal – can consider environmental taxes. Environmental taxes will not necessarily replace traditional environmental regulation. In some cases, they may complement regulation, in others, they may offer an option if regulation is not appropriate. Environmental taxation is a fascinating and complex issue that requires an understanding of both the desired outcome and how a tax can be proposed, managed and evaluated. Since almost all types of tax systems and levels of government can implement green tax policies, and because environmental tax policy can complement environmental regulation, the issue of environmental tax policy requires a differentiated understanding of taxation and the environment.
Internet access and regulation continue to be a concern for many stakeholders, including privacy advocates, internet service providers, individuals, technology companies, and government, to name a few. In 2017, President Trump signed a bill that repeals online privacy protections originally introduced by the Obama administration. Under the new law, ISPs can now collect, store, share and sell certain types of customer information without their consent. Under previous legislation, the disclosure of this type of data would have required the consent of the consumer. With this new law, companies like Verizon and Comcast will be able to collect user data and use that information to compete with companies like Google and Facebook in the $83 billion digital advertising market.4 The internet environment is extremely dynamic, so consumers and other stakeholders should keep an eye on how regulations and other policies continue to change. the basic rules for using the Internet. People often think that taxes and the environment are two completely different worlds – two circles that do not overlap. Governments levy taxes to increase the revenue they need to operate; Governments engage in environmental issues to protect the public interest. However, the two circles intersect.
Governments can – and do use – tax policies to achieve environmental goals. Business law is the legal system that governs commercial transactions. These laws provide a protective environment in which companies can operate. They serve as guidelines for business decisions. Every entrepreneur must know the laws of his area of expertise. Some laws, such as the Internal Revenue Code, apply to all businesses. Other types of trade laws may apply to a particular industry, such as the Federal Communications Commission laws that regulate radio and television stations. As part of a project, the Environmental Tax Policy Institute at Vermont School of Law will conduct research on a variety of environmental tax issues. Possible projects could include: Environmental taxes come in many different forms, but in general, environmental tax measures impose tax costs on a product or activity that harms the environment, or they confer a tax benefit on a product or activity that is beneficial to the environment.
By putting a price on pollution, taxes and tradable quota systems create incentives to reduce emissions at the lowest possible cost. OECD work on taxation and the environment examines the extent to which countries use the power of tradable taxes and quotas for environmental and climate policy.