Energy/environmental tax

Carbon emissions are overheating the planet, and Americans are feeling it this summer, with wildfires, heat waves, floods, and droughts. The most significant source of planet-heating carbon emissions is burning fossil fuels for energy. Policymakers looking to curb emissions are turning their attention into cryptocurrency mining (validating cryptocurrency transactions on a blockchain network that stores … Read more

Looking for a case study of our hyper-partisan politics? No need to search any further than your local gas pump. The ongoing debate in Washington and in many state capitols over a gas tax holiday has become a classic example of our toxic partisan politics. When Democrats propose one, Republicans reflexively oppose it. And when … Read more

Ballooning oil company profits have produced a volley of “windfall profit tax” proposals. How well would their different provisions meet the near-term US policy goals of increasing tax revenue from oil profits without deterring domestic production or raising consumer prices? The US currently taxes petroleum production in two main ways: the income tax and an … Read more

President Biden is proposing a three-month federal gasoline tax holiday. He may want to appear to be doing something to address high inflation, which is both an economic concern and a growing political problem for his Administration. But suspending the gas tax is a terrible idea that, on the margin, will make inflation worse, not … Read more