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New carbon tax to increase public transport cost?

  • 24-07-2009 9:42am
    #1
    manc
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 235 ✭✭


    Does anyone else think the new Carbon Tax that the Greens want to be used to decrease the cost of public transport will actually increase the cost, due to diesel (bus/train) been increased and the fact the tax will more than likely be used to plug the govt shortfall.


Comments

  • #2
    Nostradamus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 621 ✭✭✭Nostradamus


    No.

    Public transport should be funded as a matter of fact and not as some bargining tool. This is like "carpooling", or the "national walking strategy" another one of these public transport funding avoiding "feel-good" superficial BS tactics.

    Let the civil servants who come with this crap give up their car allowence. Tax all civil servants travelling around the country and overseas on their pointless junkets directly out of their pay packets and hand the money directly to the unemployed private sector workers so their can buy fuel to heat their houses this "SUMMER"!

    Carbon Taxes...Global Warming...Polar Bears...Al Gore and his scary CGI graphics and emotional mood music in place of funding public transport properly...:rolleyes:


  • #3
    dereko1969
    Closed Accounts Posts: 842 ✭✭✭dereko1969


    Can you post a link to the Green Party's detailed carbon tax proposal?

    I've had a quick look on google and can't find anything, there's not much point in commenting on a non-existant document.


  • #4
    Riskymove
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,900 ✭✭✭✭Riskymove


    In fairness to the Green's their proposal was based on the idea of the Carbon levy being revenue nuetral (i.e. reduce income tax while increasing taxes on all things carbon)

    that's now out the window and any tax is liekly to be aimed at revenue for general expenditure


  • #5
    crocro
    Closed Accounts Posts: 301 ✭✭crocro


    manc wrote: »
    Does anyone else think the new Carbon Tax that the Greens want to be used to decrease the cost of public transport will actually increase the cost, due to diesel (bus/train) been increased and the fact the tax will more than likely be used to plug the govt shortfall.
    Fuel for transport is already taxed with VAT and excise duty so there is disagreement over whether a carbon tax should be added to these taxes or whether a portion of the existing taxes would be designated the as the carbon tax.

    Public transport uses less fuel per person than private transport (so long as the service is busy). So, if a carbon tax is added to vehicle fuel then the cost will be higher for private than public transport. So public transport would be relatively more attractive.

    The ESRI has written several reports on how carbon taxes might work in Ireland. You can read them here:
    http://www.esri.ie/research/research_areas/environment/carbon_tax/

    Several European countries have carbon taxes already (Norway, Sweden, Finland).

    Irish Green policy on carbon tax is fairly scant. They want one but the details aren't determined. They make the point that Ireland already pays carbon taxes through the Kyoto system and they just want those who produce the emissions pay for them. Polluter pays and all that.

    Not a popular policy with high co2 emitters (farmers/long distance car commuters and heavy industry). Low emitters won't recognise the benefits so not popular with them either. I would say this is 95% going to happen in this years budget.


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