The Daily Mail reports that the UK's new carbon tax works spectacularly… as a revenue-builder. The recently-increased "showroom tax" costs consumers between $500 and $2k on cars based on their C02 emissions. According to her Majesty's Treasury, the carbon tax will add nearly $5b to the government's coffers. And here's the kicker: the gov's own figures will only decrease auto-related greenhouse gas emissions by… wait for it… less than one percent. Conservative Treasury spokesman Justine Greening discovered the discrepancy between the cost to consumers and benefit to the environment during that awesome fixture of the British Parliamentary government known as "Parliamentary answers." "This is a massive tax hike which will have virtually no impact on the environment," said Greening. "Despite their claims, the Government don't expect this move to change behaviour at all – it is just another eco stealth tax of the worst kind." Hear hear.
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The politics of Global Warming hysteria at work. Once you get people to accept that Global Warming is “accepted, indisputable science” then they will allow governments to pull crap like this.
Global Warming is sadly all about making money, nothing more. Scare the people into freely handing you their money for a made up crisis.
Global warming or not, reduced pollution = better air quality = nice smelling air and clear, beautiful skies. And that’s something /everyone/ can appreciate.
Yeah. Too bad you’ll cripple the economy in the process.
Plus, with reduced air pollution we will theoretically have better flower-pollinator relationships.
CarShark :
Yeah. Too bad you’ll cripple the economy in the process.
Can you back that assertation up? It is just as possible that large spending to reduce CO2 will be a boost to the economy.
Maybe the environmental benefits would be better….except there aren’t any….
Jerome10:
Maybe the environmental benefits would be better….except there aren’t any….
Oh no, the tax apparently reduces CO2 emissions by almost one percent. Almost.
You know, governments only get away these disguised taxes because we let them. Vote these guys out.
Love him or hate him….there is truth in what he says:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4VllgsfG08I
Global warming is engineered propaganda…and it’s only one facet of what’s in store.
We must tax an inert gas. If it ever comes to that…and it has…you can expect worse…trust me.
Please be careful when reading stuff like this, because there are 2 things which aren’t made clear and puts a slightly different spin on things:
1. A Conservative MP pointed out about this “less than 1%” reduction in CO2. A Conservative MP who is the opposition! He’s hardly likely to say that it’s a good idea, is he?
2. The article is written by the Daily Mail, who are naturally Right wing leaning. If you read any of their articles, all the ills of the UK are attributed to immigrants (legal or otherwise). The Daily Mail is considered to be more of a comic than a newspaper in the UK.
Also, I read the article and it said “But at the same time, emissions from motoring are expected to drop by less than 1 per cent.”. But at no point, did it state where it got this information from. That sounds a bit dodgy to me…..
N.B: For the record, I think the current government are a bunch of tools and in no way, am I defending them. I’m just trying to show the other side.
I will grant that a “showroom tax” is probably the wrong way to go about curbing CO2 emissions.
On the other hand, if the UK economic/tax structure is anything like the US, this new tax pales in the face of the massive subsidies and socialized cost transfers that the petroleum/automobile industries have enjoyed for decades.
http://www.icta.org/doc/Real%20Price%20of%20Gasoline.pdf
Petroleum and automobiles are what has allowed us such a high standard of living. Why would you want to end that?
Last ten years have seen a huge increase in CO2 emissions and a slight reduction in temperatures worldwide. Who can explain this? Should the government be reducing taxes to counter this?
In the end, the tax on the car purchase will not effect the fuel budget of the buyer. Even if the buyer buys a higher mpg car, he will likely just drive more miles.
This carbon tax on the car idea is like trying to stop speeders by fining their cousins. It may work on a few people (like Tony Soprano’s cousins), but it’s not the way to go.
Don’t worry Katie,
You’ll save the earth. Just keep paying for it through your sweat and labor and all will be alright.
Trust me, the Government has YOUR best interest at heart. They really don’t view you as a servant and someone “beneath” them…oh no….they really DO work for YOU! They care about your welfare and they care about that CO2 you are currently exhaling from your nostrils. They worry about it day and night and want to make matters right.
They care about Mother Earth just as much as the Catholic Church cares about the welfare of little boys and girls :)
Just know, you are doing the Queen a Royal Service by paying that tax!!! Oh…the QUEEN!!! There’s no such thing as serfdom in England, is there???
Hey, Good post Ed. The truth about government environmentalist activism. The “carbon tax” is just a method of creating a world wide income tax… for the sheeple of course.