"Eco tax" urged as alternative to income tax

A SHIFT in the burden of taxation from income tax to "ecotaxes" on the consumption of water, fuel and fertilisers, as well as on the disposal of waste, is being proposed by an economist with the ESRI.

Ms Sue Scott said eco taxes would have an important role of acting as "a disincentive to environmentally unfriendly behaviour while rewarding green" behaviour in the community. They are based on the `polluter pays' principle - the more you pollute, the more tax you pay".

Ms Scott, who is to be one of the speakers at an Earthwatch conference on sustainable development next Monday, said she particularly favoured a special tax based on the amount of carbon emitted by burning fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, which is blamed for climate change.

Before the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the European Commission considered an EU wide "carbon tax" to encourage energy conservation and combat climate change. It now seems that any such move will be up to individual member states.

Ms Scott noted that the British government had introduced a landfill tax to reduce the amount of waste being disposed of at refuse dumps. Such a tax here would encourage industrial and domestic consumers to look at ways of eliminating waste at source, she said.

Following an EPA report which identified the overuse of phosphates as one of the main causes of water pollution, she also advocates taxing the use of fertilisers to encourage less intensive and more environmentally friendly farming.

"In the current debate on taxation, all of the attention is focused on tax cuts. However, if we are to be in a position to make major cuts in income tax and PRSI, especially for the lower paid, and still maintain and improve our level of social services, we need to source funds from elsewhere.

Other speakers at next Monday's conference at the Marino Institute in Dublin, include the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, and the Fianna Fail spokesman, Mr Noel Dempsey. Places may be booked by telephoning Earthwatch at (027) 50968.