Congress proposes national carbon tax
Seeking to keep the discussion on addressing carbon emissions open, Democratic Representatives and Senators proposed draft regulations for a national carbon tax this week.
California Representative Henry Waxman, co-author of the 2009 federal cap-and-trade carbon bill that was not enacted, along with fellow Democratic Representatives and Senators are hoping to engage the energy sector to consider paths to reduce their emissions.
The draft proposal includes a plan for large companies like power plants and fuel refineries that are already reporting their emissions to the Environmental Protection Agency to pay a carbon tax for each ton of carbon dioxide their operations generate.
The result would essentially be a carbon tax, perhaps as high as $30 per ton, which would be collected by the Internal Revenue Service.
A separate carbon tax bill presented earlier this year predicted that over $1 trillion in revenue could be raised to help with the current budget deficit.
(3/12/13)