Bankrupting the Common People

Fuel Bills Will Pay for Eco-Upgrades

More than 10,000 homes a week will be given 'eco-upgrades' under Goverment plans to make every home in Britain environmentally friendly.

March 3, 2010

Telegraph - Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said seven million homes will have insulation or renewable energy devices like solar panels fitted by 2020.

Energy companies will work with local authorities to carry out the ambitious refurbishment programme "street by street" and "house by house."

Mr Miliband admitted households will pay around £50 per year to subsidise the nationwide scheme through fuel bills but insisted that this would be outweighed by savings in the long term.

But Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said the Government are not in a position to guarantee bills will not go up even further.

“Whilst we support efforts to help people save energy, we’re concerned that consumers could end up footing the huge bill for this new strategy,” he said.

Mr Miliband also announced a Pay As You Save Scheme (PAYS) that will enable homeowners to pay for energy efficiency measures through their fuel bills. The 'green loans' will be availabe through supermarkets or DIY chains and will be attached to the house rather than the owner so costly work can be paid back over a period of up to 25 years.

Households can get a better idea of what work needs to be done to their home through a new website or telephone advice line, or even through a "virtual green makeover" online. A network of green show homes will also enable people to get an idea of energy saving measures.

Landlords will also be expected to ensure homes are more energy efficient and standards for rented properties will be introduced from 2015.

The Home Energy Management Strategy is expected to create up to 65,000 jobs. To protect consumers against "cowboy eco-builders" a new accreditation scheme will ensure minimum health and safety standards for workmen.

Obama May Raise Taxes on Fuel to Meet Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals - Americans May Experience Gas at $7 a Gallon

March 2, 2010

Dot Earth - To meet the Obama administration’s targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, some researchers say, Americans may have to experience a sobering reality: gas at $7 a gallon.

To reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector 14 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, the cost of driving would simply have to increase, according to a report released Thursday by researchers at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. The research also appears in the March edition of the journal Energy Policy.

The 14 percent target was set in the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget for fiscal 2010.

In their study, the researchers devised several combinations of steps that United States policymakers might take in trying to address the heat-trapping emissions by the nation’s transportation sector, which consumes 70 percent of the oil used in the United States.

Most of their models assumed an economy-wide carbon dioxide tax starting at $30 a ton in 2010 and escalating to $60 a ton in 2030. In some cases researchers also factored in tax credits for electric and hybrid vehicles, taxes on fuel or both.

In the modeling, it turned out that issuing tax credits could backfire, while taxes on fuel proved beneficial.

“Tax credits don’t address how much people use their cars,” said Ross Morrow, one of the report’s authors. “In reverse, they can make people drive more.”

Dr. Morrow, formerly a fellow at the Belfer Center, is a professor of mechanical engineering and economics at Iowa State University

Researchers said that vehicle miles traveled will increase by more than 30 percent between 2010 and 2030 unless policymakers increase fuel taxes.

New Mexico Proposes Food Tax

March 1, 2010

The Associated Press - New Mexico will pay higher taxes when they buy goods and services, including food, under a budget-balancing package proposed by Democratic legislative leaders.

The House and Senate will consider the budget package, including more than $200 million in tax increases, during a special session that convenes Monday.

Gov. Bill Richardson called lawmakers back to work after they failed to agree on a state budget during a 30-day legislative session that ended last month.

It was the first time in 26 years the Legislature finished a regular session without approving a plan for financing public schools and state government.

Democratic leaders met last week and negotiated a budget-balancing package of tax increases and spending cuts. Persuading House and Senate rank-and-file members to back the proposals won't be easy, however.

"It's going to be a tough lift across the board," Sen. John Arthur Smith, a Deming Democrat, said Monday.

Smith, chairman of the Senate committee that handles the budget, said, "I don't think anything is a done deal."

Among the proposals:

-- A quarter-cent increase in the gross receipts tax, which would raise $119 million. The state imposes a 5 percent tax on goods and services. Cities and counties also impose a levy, which varies from location to location but averages about 2 percent statewide.

-- A 50-cent increase in the tax on a package of cigarettes. It would generate nearly $24 million. The state tax is currently 91 cents a pack.

-- Clarify that New Mexico's compensating tax applies to most goods and services purchased by New Mexico businesses and others from out-of-state vendors. That will raise nearly $12 million. However, the change will not require individuals to pay a tax when they buy items online from out-of-state businesses.

-- Reinstate a portion of the gross receipts tax on food. The state lifted the tax starting in 2005. At the time, the state agreed to provide cities and counties with the same amount of revenue they would have received had the tax on food remained unchanged. That's become very expensive for the state. The proposal by legislative leaders is to eliminate the so-called hold harmless provision and instead have the gross receipt tax by cities and counties apply to food. The change will provide the state with $71 million next year and largely protect local governments from a revenue loss.

Democratic leaders also are proposing to expand a tax rebate by $5 million for low-income New Mexicans, helping to offset the proposed tax on food.

On the budget, the leadership recommended a plan to spend $5.6 billion next year on education and government programs ranging from courts to health care for the needy. The proposal will trim spending by about 1.8 percent from amounts provided in this year's budget.

To help balance the budget, lawmakers propose to use $228 million in federal aid to pay for schools and government operations.

Also part of the budget-balancing package is a measure approved by the Legislature during its 30-day session to improve tax compliance by out-of-state residents. The measure will provide nearly $13 million next year by expanding tax withholding requirements on smaller corporations, partnerships and others.

The state is projected to collect $5.1 billion in revenues next year but it's spending $5.7 billion in the current fiscal year.