Indigenous people and mineral taxation regimes

Indigenous people in a number of major mineral-producing countries have established a substantial and growing capacity to tax mineral resources extracted from their traditional lands. However, almost no analysis has been conducted regarding the conceptual and practical issues involved in designing mineral taxation regimes for use by indigenous people. The general literature on mineral taxation is of limited relevance because basic assumptions it makes regarding the nature of the taxing authority (national or state governments) do not apply to indigenous peoples. This article discusses some key characteristics of indigenous communities as they relate to taxation of mineral resources. Against this background, it identifies a number of approaches to mineral taxation which might be utilized by indigenous groups and which acknowledge the specific constraints and circumstances they face while at the same time recognizing their need to attract and maintain investment on their traditional lands. It also reviews the inter-relationship between indigenous and state or governmental tax regimes.     

甘肃省农民负担现状调查与减负对策研究

为全面调查甘肃省农民负担的真实情况，从根本上解决农民负担问题，本研究通过抽样调查、半结构访谈（SSI）、问卷调查及跟踪访谈等方法，于2002年1月-2004年12月对甘肃省10个县400户农民进行了跟踪调查，获得了甘肃省2002年有关农户收入、支出和农业税费方面的20多万条数据和信息。并以此数据和信息为依据，对甘肃不同地域、不同生产条件下农户的总收入、总支出、生产生活状况。特别是农民负担状况进行了全面分析。研究结论表明，只有从政策体制方面解决农民负担问题，并及时解决税费改革中的旧有矛盾（财政收支、教育投入）和新出现的矛盾（村级收支、财政转移支付），由中央财政支付县、乡、村三级干部的工资待遇，加大对中西部地区农村义务教育的财政支持力度，减缓中西部地区因为农村义务教育的经费不足造成农民负担进一步加剧的问题，保证财政转移支付到位。加强转移支付过程的监管力度，保证资金有效应用。同时明确以法律规定消除农村中小学的合理性收费以外的任何其他收费。只有政府颁布、实施切实可行的政策或法律，才能从根本上解决农民的负担问题。     

Reducing carbon emissions in Portugal: the relative roles of fossil fuel prices,energy efficiency,and carbon taxation

We assess the role of fossil fuel prices, energy efficiency, and carbon taxation in achieving climate policy goals using a dynamic general-equilibrium model of the Portuguese economy. Given the forecasts for international fossil fuel prices, improving energy efficiency and implementing a new carbon tax have significantly different economic and budgetary effects. Greater energy efficiency reduces emissions and has a positive economic effect, but increases public and foreign debt. A carbon tax reduces emissions at a cost for the economy, but leads to positive effects on public and foreign debt. Thus, it is important to pursue both strategies. We estimate that under the reference-price scenario, a steady energy efficiency gain of 2%–2.5% per year and a carbon tax of at least 35 € per tCO₂ are needed to achieve the stated goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 by an amount equivalent to 40% of the emissions in 1990. These views were fully integrated in a proposal presented by the Commission for Environmental Tax Reform to the Portuguese Government in September 2014, and then discussed in Parliament in November 2014, before enacting a new carbon tax on 1 January 2015.     

论环境公共规制有效性约束体系的完善

外部性与公共产品是环境规制的理论基础，以此为基点各国实行了包括税收、补贴、市场交易、行政强制等在内的多种规制政策，各种政策具有不同的作用机制和政策效果，需据实选择。我国现行的环境公共规制体系存在一定的缺陷。主要表现在4个方面：公共规制手段过手单一，政策效果难以保证；环境保护收费制度不完善。政策效果受限；环境保护税制不健全，导向作用不突出：排污权交易制度尚处手试点阶段，作用空间太小。为了有效实现环境保护目标，需要进一步构建并不断加以完善多元化的环境公共规制体系，即：改革环境收费制度，加强资金管理；完善现行税制，发挥税收的环保导向与激励作用；综合利用财政激励机制，扶持环境保护产业的发展；建立排污权交易市场，全面推行排污交易制度。     

Coasean bargaining in the presence of Pigouvian taxation

Coasean arguments against the Pigouvian perspective are well established. A central tenet in this criticism argues that a Pigouvian tax may be a source of inefficiency: if parties were to bargain in the presence of a Pigouvian tax, (allocative) inefficiencies would occur—the so-called Buchanan–Stubblebine–Turvey Theorem. By analyzing a Coasean environment where the appropriation of property rights is costly, we show Coasean bargaining in the presence of a pre-existing (Pigouvian) tax may be superior. This has implications for policy where dual regulatory environments exist, such as regulation at the state and federal level, as well as environmental liability and litigation.     

Economic risk and mineral taxation on Indigenous lands

Mining generates risk of environmental and social harm for Indigenous peoples but can also generate substantial revenues for them, creating opportunities for community development in a context where economic and social disadvantage is the norm. Especially as mining revenues should, in part, compensate for mining’s negative social and environmental impacts, it is vital that mineral taxation on Indigenous lands reflect a careful assessment of appropriate tax mechanisms and a matching of these with community priorities. Yet little has been written that could serve as a guide for Indigenous decision makers. This article contributes to an understanding of the issues and choices facing Indigenous communities in designing mineral taxation regimes, by focusing on the question of economic risk. Risk arises as a key variable in choosing or designing a mineral taxation regime in three ways. Different approaches to mineral taxation are inherently more or less risky, in the sense that they are more or less certain to generate tax revenues. A second aspect of risk involves the degree of economic certainty or predictability associated with different types of commodities and projects. Third, the risk tolerance of Indigenous peoples and communities can vary significantly. We show how Indigenous groups can integrate and address these different dimensions of risk, by recognising the ‘risk consequences’ associated with different approaches to mineral taxation and choosing an approach that reflects, as fully as possible, the group’s risk tolerance.     

An analysis of the relationship between uncertainty-reducing exploration and resource taxation

This paper analyses the role of exploration as an uncertainty-reducing activity for a company facing resource taxation. Such exploration is of benefit, even to a risk-neutral company, because it enables a better decision to be made regarding extraction investment (Kretzer, 1994). This paper extends previous contributions to the economics of exploration in several areas which are of practical significance. First, exploration is analysed both in the context of a log-normally distributed resource deposit and of an ad valorem royalty. Second, the role of exploration in an ad valorem royalty regime is contrasted with that of a Resource Rent Tax. Finally, the relationship between exploration and resource taxation in situations of very divergent pre-exploration levels of uncertainty is considered.     

关于构建我国生态税制的思考

文章在对开征生态税的必要性和生态税收概念进行简要阐述的基础上，提出了完善现行税制，构建我国的生态税收制度的初步思考。     

中国含铅汽油税收政策的设计

征收含铅汽油税是实行汽油无铅化的一项重要政策。本文提出了含铅汽油税收政策的基本框架,设计了含铅汽油税的三个方案,并预测了征收含铅汽油税对消费者和汽油市场价格的影响。最后,建议在我国尽快实施含铅汽油税。     

The use of regulatory taxation as a policy instrument for sustainability transitions: old wine in new bottles or unexplored potential?

The burgeoning literature on sustainable transitions links persistent environmental problems to the functioning of socio-technical systems. Conventional policy instruments, such as environmental taxation, are often rejected by transition scholars but in-depth studies on their potential are scarce. This paper explores the potential of the instrument of environmental taxation for influencing sustainability transitions. The multi-level perspective and the multi-phase perspective from transition thinking and the social practices approach are combined with the environmental economics theories of Pigou and Coase. Our analysis shows that the highest impact of regulatory taxation will be realised at the end of the take-off phase and in the acceleration phase of a transition. Although important barriers exist and many conditions apply, regulatory environmental taxation, especially as part of a smart policy mix, has more potential for contributing to sustainability transitions than hitherto assumed.