Dear Editor,
There is a lot of misinformation about how a revenue neutral carbon tax works and why it is the most efficient way of getting us off fossil fuels. This is how it works.
1) A tax is put on fossil fuels at the point of entry into Ontario. No new regulations or policing are required as importers or producers already have to record what is entering the province.
2) The tax increases steadily each year so that citizens and industry have a chance to adapt on a gradual basis. The predictably increasing cost of fossil fuels will level the playing field for the clean energy industry, will unleash entrepreneurs and investors in the clean energy economy, will encourage consumers to buy more efficient vehicles and encourage constructing or retrofitting more energy efficient buildings.
3) All of the tax collected is returned on an equitable basis, in the form of a dividend cheque each month, to all the people of Ontario. This is what makes the tax revenue neutral and completely transparent. Economists predict that most households would break even or receive more than they would pay for the increased cost of energy. This would be socially just, particularly for low income households. Another advantage is that the market place is better at choosing winners than is the government – a perfect free market Conservative policy.
Ron Moore,
Hillsburgh
Ron Moore