Jack Mintz (University of Calgary, Department of Economics) presents A Simple Approach for Bettering the Environment and the Economy: Restructuring the Federal Fuel Excise Tax at UCLA today as part of its Tax Policy and Public Finance Colloquium Series moderated by Kirk J. Stark and Eric M. Zolt.  Here is the abstract:

Broadening the federal excise tax to reflect environmental costs would result in substantial new revenues to the federal government that could be used to reduce inefficient taxes in the economy. This report provides the rationale for this revenue-neutral tax proposal, and discusses how such environmental taxation can be useful in improving the overall tax structure to achieve cost-effective environmental protection. In short, converting the existing tax on vehicle fuels into a broader, environmentally based fuel tax, and using the revenues to reduce other taxes, could contribute to both a better environment and economy.