NOTE: All that is required for inclusion of the Green Tax Policy in the Platform is to append it to the end of section II. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, paragraph D. TAX JUSTICE / FAIRNESS. The existing text in this section explains WHAT tax policy changes are desired, while the Green Tax Policy presents HOW to make the desired changes. No deletions are needed as the Green Tax Policy is consistent with the meaning of the existing text.


A GREEN TAX POLICY

Local-to-Global Public Finance


Taxation not only raises money necessary to fund government services, it also reflects the overall value system of a society. The goal of GREEN TAX POLICY is to create a system of public finance which will strengthen and maximize incentives for: Green tax reform makes a clear distinction between private property and common property. Private property is that which is produced by labor. Common property is that which is provided by nature. Green tax policy removes taxes from wages and other private property and increases taxes and user fees on common property. Reducing taxes on labor increases purchasing capacity, while reducing taxes on capital encourages efficiency. Shifting taxes to land and resource use curbs speculation and private profiteering in our common property and is a practical way to conserve and fairly share the earth.

Captured in brief soundbites, "tax waste - not work," "tax bads - not goods," "pay for what you take - not what you make," and "polluter pays," become tax shift principles readily translated into voter-friendly policy recommendations with broadbased political support.

Green tax policy CUTS taxes on:

Green tax policy INCREASES taxes and fees on:

Green taxers want to ELIMINATE SUBSIDIES deemed no longer necessary, environmentally or socially harmful, or inequitable and unfair. Slated for drastic reduction or complete removal are subsidies for:

LOCAL-TO-GLOBAL PUBLIC FINANCE TIERS

Imagine the shape of the emerging order as a pyramid with three basic levels: a small tier at the top for global institutions, a greatly slimmed down second band of national governments, and a vast sturdy base of local governance.

Green tax reform has the potential for becoming a comprehensive and universally accepted approach to public finance policy that can readily be integrated into such a three-tier system of local-to-global governance. Percentages of total resource revenues collected could be disbursed up or down these several tiers based on criteria of equity, as some nations and regions of the earth are better endowed with natural resources than others. Freedom to live or work in any part of the globe would also further equality of entitlement to the planet.

Suitable tax bases for the funding of cities, regions, states and at the global level can be clearly delineated as follows:

LOCAL: Surface land values, such as sites for homes, business and industrial activities, are well-suited to finance cities and towns. Progressively shifting taxes OFF OF productive efforts such as building homes, working and organizing businesses, and ON TO land site values prevents land speculation and monopoly, thus keeping land affordable while at the same time enabling workers to keep what they have earned. This type of green tax shift also would be recommended for rural areas where it has potential for non-coercive land reform which could underpin the transition to organic farming and a revitalized rural "eco-village" culture.

REGIONAL: State, regional, or national bodies may be best constituted to collect user fees for forestry, mineral, oil and water resources. Precise configurations for the allocation of resource rentals between the state, regional and federal levels would vary according to the situation of particular nations.

GLOBAL: Urgently needed is the establishment of a Global Resource Agency to collect user fees for transnational commons. This would include parking charges for satellites placed in geostationary orbits, royalties on minerals mined or fish caught in international waters, charges for exploration in or exploitation of Antartica, and use of the electromagnetic spectrum,

Other significant global revenue sources are taxes or fees based on the polluter-pay principle, such as international flights or aviation fuel, international shipping, or dumping at sea. Proposals are being developed to place a tax on currency speculation. To be considered is whether international arms trading should be heavily taxed or completely abolished.

The Global Resource Agency could also be responsible for monitoring the global commons (e.g.,the ozone shield,global forest reserves,fish, biodiversity) determining rules for access, issuing permits and collecting resource revenues. Such a body could assume substantial authority for levying fines and penalities for the abuse of common heritage resources.

Revenue raised from access fees for the use of global commons could fund sustainable development programs, environmental restoration, peacekeeping activities, or low-interest loans for poverty eradication. Funds are also needed on the global level to finance justice institutions such as the World Court and the International Criminal Court and to facilitate policy convergence in areas such as trade, currency exchange, and human rights.

The Global Resource Agency could also be mandated to distribute resource revenues equitably throughout the world as calculated by formulas based on population, development criteria and currency purchasing capacity.


THE EARTH BELONGS TO EVERYONE

It is overly simplistic to view the world as being divided between the rich North and the poor South. In the North there are significant numbers living in poverty and despair while in the South there are those with the riches of royalty. The structural systemic problem of the maldistribution of wealth is a global phenomenon. Taxes structured along the proposed lines would do much to level the economic playing field worldwide, both within and among nations. A coherent and integrated local-to-global green public finance system would fundamentally alter the status quo and would give every person a stake in the planet as a birthright. With basic needs securely met for all, humankind would be free to advance to a higher dimension of expression and realization.



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