tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post2015419107899995191..comments2024-03-19T07:10:27.303-07:00Comments on Quark Soup by David Appell: James Hansen's Excellent TED TalkDavid Appellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03318269033139447591noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-65162408574111541772012-03-12T00:41:58.244-07:002012-03-12T00:41:58.244-07:00"I'm dubious we could electronically dist..."I'm dubious we could electronically distribute a carbon tax back to everyone on a monthly basis"<br /><br />There is some precedent for something similar here in Canada. People with low income get GST rebates (the GST is a sales tax) every 3 months. And here in BC the low income tax credit for the carbon tax is tacked on to the GST rebate. By default cheques are mailed to people, but recipients can opt to have the money directly deposited into their bank accounts if they would like.<br /><br />A similar system could probably be implemented for Hansen's policy proposal.<br /><br />More importantly (for me anyways) is the potential for this to become a regressive tax (this is what prompts the GST rebates in Canada). The simple (at least technically, perhaps not politically) solution is to give greater rebates back to low income earners and lesser rebates to high income earners.<br /><br />Another interesting option to make Hansen's policy more palatable is to do what BC did when it introduced a carbon tax. Give everyone a preemptive rebate before the carbon tax kicks in.ScruffyDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16713742939840041196noreply@blogger.com