USA, Washington DC
The Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell (D-MI), unveiled his long-awaited global warming proposal. The proposal includes a tax on carbon dioxide emissions of $50 per ton (phased in over five years and then adjusted for inflation). Based on an analysis from the American Gas Association, the carbon dioxide tax would result in a 51-cents per gallon increase in the price of gasoline and a 33-cents per GGE increase in the price of CNG.
However, the proposal also includes an additional 50-cents per gallon tax on gasoline (over and above the existing 18.3 cent tax) on top of the carbon tax. That tax also would be phased in over five years and then adjusted for inflation. It is unclear if the “gasoline tax” would also be imposed on CNG. Diesel and biofuels are explicitly exempted from the tax because of their greenhouse gas benefits. Since natural gas in vehicles has a GHG advantage over diesel, we would argue that natural gas, too, should be exempted.
Also as part of the proposal, the Chairman proposes to phase out the mortgage interest deduction on large (over 3,000 square feet) homes. A copy of the proposal can be downloaded from http://www.house.gov/dingell/carbonTaxSummary.shtml. Comments on the proposal may be submitted at http://www.house.gov/dingell/carbonTaxComment.shtml. NGVAmerica will be submitting comments.
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