carbon tax

A new study suggests that Canadians may be in support of a “carbon tax” on activities that cause climate change. The McAllister Opinion Research survey, commissioned for the Pembina Institute, revealed that Canadians would not expect such a tax to offset current taxes and would, instead, prefer that the revenue be used to improve energy efficiency and clean energy technologies.

According to a research analyst involved in the study, “The support for B.C.’s carbon tax is fairly uniform across Canada. Six out of 10 people definitely support it when you look at the numbers.”

Wow. That’s pretty overwhelming support.

But is it realistic? Perhaps. In the study, participants were advised that British Columbia had recently introduced “a carbon tax on fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Nearly three-quarters of the respondents characterized that as a positive step. In some areas, such as Quebec, the numbers trended higher than 80%.

All of the major political parties in Canada, including the Conservatives, the NDP, the Liberals and the Green party suggest some kind of a cap and trade system that would allow the market to set a price on pollution. In short, greener companies would pay less - and the biggest polluters would pay more. The Liberals and the Green party have also proposed a “tax-shifting” policy that would impose a carbon tax for everyone, including consumers.

Across the board, Canadians have suggested that income tax cuts would not be a priority so long as the revenues continued to support environmental programs - a fairly bold statement in today’s economy. I feel fairly certain that those in the US would not agree to a similar plan but I could be wrong.

I’d love to hear from my Canadian readers: are you on board with the idea of this tax?

And for my US readers: would you be agreeable to a similar program in the US?

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