Ad: BlueJ Better Tax Answers. -Accomplish hours of research in seconds -Instantly draft high-quality communications -Verify answers using a library of trusted tax content. Learn more

Cockfield: Optimal Climate Change Tax Policy

Arthur J. Cockfield (Queen's University, Faculty of Law) has posted Optimal Climate Change Tax Policy for Small Open Economies on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

What are the best climate change tax policies for governments with relatively small open economies such as the Canadian one? This chapter assesses recent Canadian government climate change tax policy initiatives, discusses the merits of carbon taxes versus cap and trade solutions then considers the constraints imposed on optimal climate change (or global warming) tax policy by increasing regional and global economic interdependence. The perhaps obvious conclusion is that governments with small open economies should seek collective action solutions to confront climate change challenges: the suggested approach is to develop consensus surrounding the imposition of a global carbon tax with, at least initially, a low rate. In particular, carbon taxes have the virtue of transparency and consistency that responds to concerns set out in the optimal tax and compliance theory literature. An international agreement that focuses on the price of carbon can, at the beginning stages, incorporate regional cap and trade (or other) programs with the aim of ultimately evolving into a global carbon tax.


About the Author

Ad: BlueJ Better Tax Answers. Blue J's generative AI tax research solution is transforming how tax experts work. Learn more.
Ad: TaxAnalysis Award of Distinction. Honoring those that have made outstanding contributions to the field of taxation.
Information and rates on advertising on TaxProf Blog

Discover more from TaxProf Blog

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading