Tax... the future

1. Tax...the future

2. First things first • Times are changing, there are huge challenges facing humanity. • If properly deployed, tax is a very handy tool which governments can use to shape our future in a positive direction. • Our basic principle is that tax should be used to encourage mankind to consume - and companies to produce - in a more responsible, sustainable manner. • We are proposing some ideas which we believe are positive steps in • the right direction, the direction towards a more sustainable future.

3. Our ideas • Congestion charges should be imposed in cities worldwide. • Corporate tax should be increased / decreased based on a compulsory lifecycle assessment • Local, sustainable industry should be incentivised and higher taxes should be placed on foreign non essentials. • Card System concept

4. Congestion Charges A congestion charge is an example where tax can have a large impact on an environmentally damaging situation which is unlikely to change otherwise. These should be imposed in built up areas. Engine size and peak hour times are the parameters that should determine the amount due. The tax should be collected via a system similar to the toll system utilised on the M50 and other major motorways. The aim of this tax is to promote the use of public transport, discourage inefficient commuting and excess C02 emissions. This is a good example of a green tax which is predictable, easily collected, equitable and sustainable.

5. Product Lifecycle Assessment The idea here is to establish an ethos in the manufacturing and production industries in which responsibility and accountability for the entire life of its output is at the fore. Companies within the primary and secondary sectors must a have a mandatory life-cycle assessment carried out on the company as a whole. International standards should be established as to what is overly damaging or wasteful, and the corporate tax payable would be proportional to the impact caused. The aim is to make companies liable for waste / inefficiency throughout the whole of the product life cycle, and to punish harmful processes This should encourage companies to consider recycling / re-use of the product and its components at a design stage.

6. Card System The concept here is to discourage the excessive consumption (on an individual basis) of environmentally damaging habits and products. For certain flagged, high energy, high impact, commodities and services (such as electronics, air travel, vehicles, fuel, etc…) a cash and card system should be in operation whereby you have to swipe your social services card upon purchase. This transaction will be logged into the revenue commission database. An annual personal tax will be calculated automatically, which exponentially increases after consumption has passed a reasonable threshold. This is a personal tax, which encourages the individual to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and would also have a knock on effect for businesses as they would strive to meet the demands of their more sustainably conscious consumer.

7. Acknowledgements • Created by • Declan Dooley • Niall O’Flynn • Liam Regan