Americans for Prosperity Policy Analyst Martin Rodriguez | Morning Consult
Advocates of the carbon tax claim it isn’t like those other bad taxes. It’s “market driven,” they say. It will actually help the economy. And it’s a great way to reduce dangerous emissions. If Americans only understood how great this tax was, they’d be clamoring to have one imposed on them.
That’s exactly what supporters of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act — a bill introduced by Florida Democrat Ted Deutch with a dab of bipartisan support — are claiming.
They are wrong on all counts, and most Americans — those who would have to pay the tax — know it. That’s why voters in green Washington state have rejected a carbon tax in two straight elections.
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Companies hit with the tax will need to pass on some of the increased costs to the consumer just to stay afloat or cut back on jobs and investment. According to one study, a $25 per ton carbon tax would cost a family of four $1,900 per year, increase gas prices by 50 cents per gallon, and cost the economy more than 1 million jobs.
Previous carbon tax proposals have varied in the burdens they impose on the American people: Rep. Carlos Curbelo’s plan called for $24 per ton, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s plan called for $49 per ton.
The Deutch proposal is the most draconian and deceptive of them all. Its seemingly lower carbon tax rate of $15 per ton in 2019 masks its $10-a-year increases — rising to nearly $100 per ton by 2030. The tax could be even higher if the emissions targets stipulated in the bill are not met.
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A carbon tax would be another government-imposed barrier to the innovation needed to produce cleaner, lower-cost energy. It represents yet another power grab by the government at the expense of taxpayers. Even the enviro-friendly voters of Washington state understood this. Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., should not waste time on a bad idea like the carbon tax.
Click here to read the full Op-ed.
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