Skip to content

Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Taxes

All Related Articles

Excise Taxes, 2021 Excise Tax Rates and 2021 Excise Tax Trends

Excise Tax Application and Trends

The excise tax family is growing. Over the last decade, several products have become subject to excise taxes or are in the process of becoming so. Given this development, it is more crucial than ever that lawmakers, businesses, and consumers understand the possibilities and, more importantly, limitations of excise tax application.

77 min read
Ron Wyden energy tax proposal in Biden infrastructure bill. Katie Porter oil executive tax deduction

Wyden’s Energy Tax Proposal a Mixed Bag

As the Biden administration turns toward infrastructure, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or.) has suggested including reforms to the way the tax code subsidizes energy production in such a package, eliminating 44 “tax breaks” for various activities in the energy sector and replacing them with only three.

3 min read
excise tax definition suspending the gas tax proposal Kentucky's gas tax road funding, Kentucky gas tax bill

Kentucky’s Century-Old Gas Tax Is Failing to Keep Up with Road Funding Needs

For the fourth year in a row, a comprehensive infrastructure funding reform bill has been introduced in Kentucky, with the centerpiece being a gas tax increase of 8.6 cents per gallon (cpg). Like many states, Kentucky faces a backlog of road maintenance and construction projects, and existing transportation taxes and user fees are failing to keep pace with funding needs.

4 min read
DeSantis gas tax relief DeSantis gas tax proposal Florida gas tax proposal Florida gas tax relief Florida online sales tax law bottled water tax on water extraction in Florida

Renewed Calls for Severance Taxes on Bottled Spring Water

Amid a debate over water extraction from Florida’s springs, Florida Sen. Annette Taddeo (D) has introduced a bill (SB 562) which, if enacted, would establish an excise tax on water extraction beginning July 1.

4 min read
UK taxes, UK tax reform 2021 UK tax reform British tax reform, 2021 UK budget

Brits to Prepare for Tax Reforms

Tax hikes or spending cuts implemented early in the year might undermine the desirable rapid recovery of the economy. The UK should focus on implementing tax reforms that have the potential to stimulate economic recovery by supporting business investment and employment while increasing its international tax competitiveness.

4 min read
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act offshoring OECD BEPS project, OECD consultation document, OECD multinationals, Consumption tax policies in OECD countries, Consumption taxes in OECD countries

Consumption Tax Policies in OECD Countries

Despite the potential of consumption taxes as a neutral and efficient source of tax revenues, many governments have implemented policies that are unduly complex and have poorly designed tax bases that exclude many goods or services from taxation, or tax them at reduced rates.

40 min read
Carbon tax revenue to grow economy, Using carbon tax revenue to address post-Covid economic recovery, carbon tax economic recovery

Using Carbon Tax Revenue to Grow the Economy

The economy and climate change are two challenges the Biden administration has identified as priorities. One way to address both issues at the same time is to enact a carbon tax to discourage carbon emissions, and to use the resulting carbon tax revenue to lower—or in the case of the TCJA’s individual provisions, avoid increases of—other, more distortive, types of taxes. This would not only address the challenges of climate change but also support the economy.

3 min read

How Expensing for Capital Investment Can Accelerate the Transition to a Cleaner Economy

Expensing for capital investments is a powerful tax policy for economic growth. But expensing can also help shift the economy to a more sustainable future through increased investment in new, less carbon-intensive technology. Expensing for capital investment would eliminate a tax bias against energy efficiency improvements that reduce operating costs but involve high upfront investments. It could also serve to accelerate the existing trend of movement towards more green energy power sources.

28 min read
tax exemption definition TaxEDU 2021 state tax changes. net operating loss policies in the OECD NOL omnibus covid-19 relief deal. phase 4 coronavirus relief, phase 4 business relief, phase 4 relief net operating loss, cost recovery

State Tax Changes Effective January 1, 2021

Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia had notable tax changes take effect on January 1, 2021. Because most states’ legislative sessions were cut short in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer tax changes were adopted in 2020 than in a typical year.

24 min read
Bipartisan tax policy roots

The Future of Tax Policy with Douglas Holtz-Eakin

What do election results mean for the future of the federal tax code? What role will tax policy play in curbing the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic? How should policymakers address the federal deficit and could a carbon tax be part of that solution? How much of President-elect Joe Biden’s pre-election tax plan will actually come to pass?

Spain Recovery Plan Tax Hikes 2020 Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index, Spain economic recovery, Spain recovery budget, Spain recovery plan

Spain’s Recovery Budget Comes with Tax Hikes

While other countries in Europe are working towards introducing tax cuts and stimulating economic recovery by supporting business investment and employment, Spain is putting more fiscal pressure on households and businesses.

4 min read
european countries with a carbon tax, carbon tax rates in Europe, carbon taxes in Europe

Carbon Taxes in Europe, 2020

17 European countries have implemented a carbon tax, ranging from less than €1 per metric ton of carbon emissions in Ukraine and Poland to over €100 in Sweden.

3 min read
environmental tax policies, environmental taxation

Countries Eye Environmental Taxation

A recent OECD report on 2020 tax reforms reveals an increase in the number of environmentally-related tax policies, including gas taxes, carbon taxes, and taxes on electricity consumption.

5 min read

Looking Back on 30 Years of Carbon Taxes in Sweden

Implemented in 1991, Sweden’s carbon tax was one of the first in the world. Since then, Sweden’s carbon emissions have been declining, while there has been steady economic growth. Today, Sweden levies the highest carbon tax rate in the world and its carbon tax revenues have been decreasing slightly over the last decade.

21 min read