[...]... return for permission to act in a certain way, such as a fee for 8 Taxation for Environmental Protection discharging waste water or a fee for putting out garbage for collection Many other terms are also used; in English, they include charges, levies, duties, and imposts By whatever name, they nevertheless fit our general definition of fiscal measures because they are payments to the government for certain... its avowed environmental policies.11 Indeed, they often conflict with each other, so that the incentives for businesses to reduce their taxes may actually aggravate or perpetuate environmentally harmful practices For example, U.S tax law disproportionately encourages the extraction of toxic minerals, such as mercury 12 Taxation for Environmental Protection and asbestos, even though U.S environmental. .. to consider tax and environmental policy together Government tax collections and expenses for environmental protection are both significant cost factors for businesses and individuals Governments will want, at the very least, to be sure that the tax system works in harmony with environmental policy Better yet, if they can harness taxation directly and wisely to promote important environmental objectives,... is granted specifically for plants reducing levels of toxic discharge, we will not hesitate to speak about environmental fiscal measures The two purposes of environmental fiscal measures—the budgetary function 18 Taxation for Environmental Protection of covering expenses relating to environmental protection and the interventionist function of influencing the behavior of consumers or producers in relation... considerably less success, legal rules have been 2 Taxation for Environmental Protection applied to hold enterprises responsible for the damage they have caused to neighboring properties or residents, or even to the environment in general In some circumstances, substantial changes have been brought about by the simple process of collecting information on environmental hazards and making it public Finally,... the achievement of environmental quality improvements Although the use of fiscal measures to promote environmental protection has not yet received the political attention it deserves,3 countries around the world have experimented with some tax and fee systems To draw on this base of experience, this book brings together, for the first time, studies of fiscal measures for environmental protection in five... as state-managed economic systems Direct regulation has important strengths that should not be forgotten It establishes an objective standard of environmental quality or pollution-control performance that must be achieved in all locations and applies equally to all polluting 4 Taxation for Environmental Protection sources It allows the government to establish general rules, rather than attempting to... coordination between the divisions of government responsible for tax legislation and those responsible for environmental policy At the very least, governments should assure that proposed tax legislation undergoes formal evaluation of its environmental impact Better still, they should establish meaningful channels of communication between environmental ministries and finance ministries in order to gain... country's environmental program The third and generally central part of each chapter describes the fiscal measures already adopted as part of the overall environmental protection strategy—and sometimes selective proposals for change Where data or studies are available, the description is accompanied by an evaluation of the effectiveness of the fiscal measure from the environmental policy point of view Unfortunately,... Some of the difficulties stem from poor scientific understanding of the environmental "costs" and the diffuse nature and slow emergence of these costs Although economics can, in theory, fully account for environmental effects, significant methodological impediments exist For example, in Science Advisory Board, U.S Environmental Protection Agency, REDUCING RISK, APPENDIX A: THE REPORT OF THE ECOLOGY . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" TAXATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION This page intentionally left blank TAXATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION A Multinational. special tip of the hat for her good cheer and diligence. Richard A. Westin Sanford E. Gaines TAXATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION This page intentionally