Proposing this amendment:
Amendment to the Carbon Tax Act
AN ACT OF CONGRESS
To impose a tax on the burning of carbon-based fuels, and to incentivize minimizing carbon emissions through conservation, substitution, and innovation
Be it enacted by the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia assembled;
SECTION 1. TITLE
This legislation may be cited as the Carbon Tax Act.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Whereby the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia hereby acknowledges:
That increasing levels of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere are destabilizing established climate patterns and damaging ecosystems;
That rapid reductions in Atlasia's and other nations' carbon emissions are essential to avoid runaway climate destabilization and minimize severe weather events, inundation of coastal cities, spread of diseases, loss of forests, failure of agriculture and water supply, infrastructure destruction, forced migrations, political upheavals, and international conflict;
Current prices of electricity, gasoline, and other fuels reflect little or none of the long-term costs from climate change or even near-term health costs of burning fossil fuels, and this suppresses incentives to develop and deploy carbon-reducing measures such as energy efficiency
SECTION 3. TAX RATES
Following are tax rates consistent with charging $50.00 per ton of carbon (not carbon dioxide) emitted.
Consistent with the intent of phasing this level in over a five-year period, the rates for years 1 through 4 will be calculated by multiplying the rates in the table by 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%, respectively.
All rates are expressed in dollars per million Btu of fuel.
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Bituminous coal ----- $1.40
Subbituminous coal - $1.45
Lignite ----------------- $1.47
Crude Oil -------------- $1.12
Gasoline --------------- $1.07
Residual Fuel Oil ----- $1.18
Natural Gas ----------- $0.80
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SECTION 4. REBATES FOR CO2 CONTROL
Paying entities may be eligible for a partial or total rebate of the tax payments if the paying entity can prove that some or all of the carbon dioxide emissions will be kept from entering the Earth's atmosphere for millennia.
SECTION 5. EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL REVENUES TO ATLASIAN CITIZENS (GREEN CHECKS)
1. 70 30% of revenues generated by the carbon tax shall be distributed on an equal basis to all Atlasian households on a quarterly time basis via cheque, which shall henceforth be referred to as "green checks."
2. 30% of revenues generated by the carbon tax shall be used to cover the costs of the Renewable Energy Rebate and Subsidy Act.
3. 10% of revenues generated by the carbon tax shall be used to fund federal grants for research and development to discover and implement new renewable energy sources and improve on existing sources.
4. 15% of the revenues generated by the carbon tax shall be used to aid in reducing our national deficit.
5. 15% of the revenues generated by the carbon tax shall be used to provide additional funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with no less than 33% of this funding being reserved for the National Weather Service (NWS)
SECTION 6. BORDER CARBON TAX ADJUSTMENT
Goods imported from countries without a carbon tax will be subject to a tax on their value upon importation equal to the cost of Atlasia's carbon tax for the amount of carbon involved in the production of the product.
This amendment is intended to redistribute how we spent the revenues generated by the carbon tax, and allow for funding towards new research in renewable energy and deficit reduction.
People's House of Representatives
Pending
