The growing chorus of climate change enthusiasts demonstrates that there is consensus in the wider community that man-made climate change is real.?To the frustration of everyone else who would like to further investigate if global warming is not man-made, the debate has now shifted from proving whether or not climate change is man-made to how it can be managed.
Unfortunately, most countries are now implementing a carbon tax to reduce global emissions.?Australia has already passed legislation to introduce a carbon tax of which will take effect on July 1 2012. There has been little or no discussion about what effects a carbon tax will have on industry, business and employment. Evidence being publicized about the economic effects of a carbon tax is concerning and dior sunglasses 2012 needs to be discussed in a wider public forum.
This article has no intention of proving whether or not climate change is real, its aim is to provide you with evidence on what the costs of a carbon tax will be from an Australian perspective.
COSTS OF A CARBON TAX
In Australia, it is expected that Australian families will be confronted with an increase in the cost of living under the carbon tax greater then they experienced when the federal government introduced changes to the taxation system with the introduction of a GST.
In a report released by the CSIRO last year,?they concluded that there will be an overall rise in consumer costs of 0.6 per cent in the first year the carbon price is in place, based on a starting price of $23 a tonne. This sounds all well and good because the Australian economy is booming. So what happens if the markets crash? What happens if commodity prices collapse? What happens if the Greens Party gets in power (The Greens Party would prefer a much high carbon price be set)?
The cost of a carbon tax has already hit the consumer with higher air fare tickets even before it has taken effect. ‘QANTAS will raise surcharges for international and domestic flights by as much as 24 per cent,?blaming higher fuel costs and the impact of carbon taxes in Australia and Europe. Qantas and its regional offshoot, QantasLink, will increase domestic fares by an prada sunglasses 2012 average 2.5 per cent from February 9. This translates into a designer sunglasses for men $5 fare increase for a flight between Sydney and Melbourne' (O'sullivan, Matt. 2012). That doesn't sound like a lot? But what happens when the carbon price rises to $50??With global oil supplies under threat, the aviation industry of which employs 10,000+ people in Australia stands to lose the most from a carbon tax.
The following are a few examples of what the Australian Government will pay for the introduction of a carbon tax.
- $105 billion of taxes out to 2020/21 largely paid for in electricity, gas and diesel price rises.
- A further $15 billion in direct government expenditure. This includes $10 billion of unfunded expenditure to buy shares in speculative energy companies that the private sector will not support. It also includes $3 billion in other energy programs and $2 billion to close down power stations.
- $4 billion budget deficit in the tax and transfer payments associated with the package in just its first three years.
- Purchase of at least $8 billion in foreign carbon credits to 2020. In 2020 alone, Australian companies will have to purchase $3.5 billion in foreign carbon credits on top of the Carbon Tax.
