Carbon tax boosts renewable energy interest rates
(April 27, 2016) — A proposed new tax in the Alberta economy that would boost renewable energy incentives is raising eyebrows among the oil and gas industry. The tax, known as the $20,000 tax on carbon dioxide emissions, would cost more than $100 million over five years, but some in the industry say it’s a bad idea.
„We all agree that investing in renewable energy will have a real impact on the economy of Alberta, with no net job-creating effects,“ said Joe Strachey, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. „The only way to ensure that this tax is fully effective is for it to be revenue neutral and it must be revenue neutral with reasonable certainty.“
Opponents of the carbon tax say it’s not revenue neutral. The Carbon예스카지노 Tax Coalition, the non-partisan economic-development organization that’s leading the opposition, argues that by creating new tax credits to businesses and individuals, the government is diverting money away from tax cuts for companies that employ people, including small businesses, and back to people like the oil and gas industry.
The carbon tax would raise revenue for the government each year from businesses with the lowest marginal tax rates. Under current tax laws, businesses have a tax rate of 20 per cent for capital investment on equipmen바카라사이트t and equipment projects, regardless of the carbon footprint. The carbon tax would raise some $1.3 billion a year from the carbon value of those projects, the coalition argues.
Businesses pay into the system to help pay for environmental protection. The Carbon Tax Coalition has suggested a carbon fee of 15 per cent on electricity bills, the same as the U.S. federal tax system, but that the tax would be offset by revenue raised from an energy conservation tax, bec더킹카지노ause energy conservation is a more progressive tax than the tax applied to gas.
Strachey said the new tax would be „irresponsible for taxpayers“ and have no negative impact on oil and gas jobs. He said the coalition believes the cost of the new tax would be offset by „a lower carbon price at the oil sands and the new money that will flow into the economy as a result of lower oil prices.“
Alberta Liberal finance critic Todd Stone said he agrees with the coalition’s concerns about the cost of the carbon tax and the increased revenue that would result. He said the province has spent $25 million a year promoting renewable energy initiatives to boost investment in the energy sector and was not proposing an extra $10 billion a yea