Media Advisory - The School of Public Policy to release major paper on carbon taxation revenue neutrality tomorrow

CALGARY, April 12, 2016 /CNW/ - The new carbon levy of $30 per tonne, announced in November 2015 as part of the report issued by the Alberta government's Climate Leadership Panel, is a positive move.

However, while there is some discussion in the report of what should be done with the revenues generated by the carbon levy, it is somewhat vague on the details. How is the government really going to spend this money?

A new report from The School will argue that the revenues from the carbon levy should be used to lower existing taxes – the carbon tax should be revenue neutral, generating no new net revenue for the government.  If the government wants to fund other priority areas – be it public infrastructure, investment in complementary initiatives to reduce emissions, or even deficit reduction – it is better to finance these initiatives through more efficient and less costly taxes than a carbon tax.

SOURCE The School of Public Policy - University of Calgary

Morten Paulsen, 403.220.2540, [email protected]