Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Sunday, July 12, 2015
Clean Energy Equals $418M Tax Hike?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 7500 Views :: Energy, Tax Credits, Taxes

Clean Energy Equals $418M Tax Hike?

By Tom Yamachika, President Tax Foundation Hawaii

Hawaii’s clean energy goals are the most aggressive in the nation, according to the home page of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI). Let’s find out just how aggressive some of these goals are.

Who is HCEI? It might sound like an independent nonprofit but it’s not; it’s actually a state government program under DBEDT. It’s been in the news recently because it released a draft report (written with the help of the International Council on Clean Transportation, an independent nonprofit that was awarded a $100,000 contract by DBEDT in April 2014). This 173-page report, all paid for with tax dollars, has a lot of recommendations, but we will concentrate on one of them for now.

The draft report notes that Hawaii’s fuel taxes are low compared to gasoline taxes in the European Union. (Ours were fourth highest among the U.S. states in 2014, but apparently that doesn’t matter.) The report says that using gasoline for motor vehicles has “substantial externalities” including energy security, air pollution, traffic accidents, and traffic congestion. So the State could increase the tax rate to account for the social costs and increase the cost competitiveness of technologies that use alternative fuels. It also says that because demand for gasoline is relatively inelastic in the short term, economists tend to regard gasoline taxes as an economically efficient means of raising tax revenue. It recommends that the state tax on gasoline be hoisted by up to 400%, for an additional 85 cents a gallon, which, it says, would bring in an additional $418 million per year.

Translation: Motor vehicles use fossil fuel, which is not a renewable resource so it will eventually run out. Motor vehicles also cause air pollution, traffic accidents, congestion, and other social costs that aren’t reflected in the gas price, so let’s raise taxes so drivers feel the pain and pay for those social costs. Also, alternative fuels such as biofuels, electricity, and hydrogen are expensive now so let’s make fossil fuels just as expensive. Finally, experience has shown that if you raise the price of gasoline people will still buy it, so if we slap a hefty tax on gasoline the State will rake in the dough. In other words, let’s tax gasoline through the roof because we can.

The report goes on to address “social acceptability.” Apparently the study’s authors recognize that the fuel tax is highly regressive, so they recommend giving some of this money back to low-income folks, perhaps through income tax credits, in order to make the plan “acceptable.”

One of the things our state government needs to realize is that $418 million won’t magically materialize out of thin air if lawmakers pass this tax. People who have cars will need to figure out how to pay for the higher gas bills. Businesses that transport people or goods will have to build the extra costs into prices for goods and services. People will then need to decide if they are going to buy those goods and services, buy less, or go without them. In other words, higher tax costs will ripple through the economy, and that won’t necessarily be a happy thing.

Perhaps the most jarring aspect of this study is that it’s paid for by tax money. We’re paying them to tell us that we should jack up taxes because we can? We’re paying them to tell us that if we hike our gasoline taxes 400% and rebate some of this money to the poor it’s going to be socially acceptable? Our government is supposed to be studying how to produce clean energy, not how to milk the public! Goodness knows that some lawmakers are already spending enough time on that latter issue.

- 30 -

Related: $418M 'Clean Energy' Tax Hike: Fewer flights and fewer visitors to Hawaii would be expected

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT