
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 10, 1991                   TAG: 9102100091
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

TAX ON CARBON FUELS URGED

World governments should impose stiff taxes on carbon-based fuels and other causes of pollution to safeguard the global environment and ensure continued economic growth, the Worldwatch Institute said in a report released Saturday.

To counter the impact of the proposed "green taxes" on people with lower incomes, the United States and other nations should cut individual income tax rates, the non-profit environmental organization said in its eighth annual "State of the World" report.

In the United States, a $100-a-ton tax based on the carbon content of fossil fuels, including gasoline, coal and natural gas, would generate $130 billion a year, the institute said, allowing the government to cut income taxes by as much as 30 percent with no net loss of revenue.

In addition to imposing levies on carbon-based fuels, the institute advocated creating taxes to reduce other forms of air pollution, hazardous waste, ground-water depletion, pesticide use and deforestation.

The Worldwatch recommendations run counter to current Bush administration policy. In a draft national energy strategy to be sent to Congress soon, the administration rejects taxes designed to reduce pollution and promote conservation. The report's authors contend that a carbon tax would reduce fuel consumption, while requiring motorists and other fuel users to pay for a greater share of the environmental damage they cause.

by CNB