Reducing CO2 Through Excise Duties" This paper considers the distributional effects of imposing additional excise duties on energy products according to carbon content. The assumed duties escalate from 1999 to 2010 and achieve levels reducing CO2 emissions by 10 per cent below baseline by 2010 for 11 EU member states. By 2010, real personal disposable incomes are 1.6 per cent above baseline and employment is 1.2 per cent above, assuming that the change is tax-revenue-neutral. The study concludes that the changes will be weakly regressive for nearly all the member states in the study if revenues are used to reduce employers? taxes and strongly progressive if they are given back lump-sum to households. "Equity and ecotax reform in the EU: achieving a 10 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions using excise duties" by Terry Barker and Jonathan Köhler, is published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.?

By Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK.

Taxation Policy Resource.

IFS Green Budget" The Institute for Fiscal Studies present their well respected Green Budget - an annual look at the tax and spending choices open to the British government before the official budget. Highlights from this year's Green Budget include discussions of the prospects for financing Higher Education through a graduate tax, R&D tax credits and asset-based welfare reforms.?

By Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK.

Taxation Policy Resource.

Inheritance Taxes" Barry Bracewell-Milnes analyses the traditional criticism of death duties and adds some novel arguments based on the concept of saving in perpetuity - saving which is never drawn down, whether or not it was initially planned as perpetual. The perpetual saver is a public benefactor because he or she provides the rest of society with a permanent loan at rates chargeable for loans with maturity dates. Taxing perpetual saving will reduce its supply, thus resulting in losses to the rest of society. "Euthanasia for Death Duties: Putting Inheritance Tax Out of its Misery" is published by the Institute of Economic Affairs.

By Institute of Economic Affairs , UK.

Taxation Policy Resource.

Council Tax Reform " The New Policy Institute argue for a reform of the council tax. It is a regressive tax - taking relatively more from the poor than from the rich. Indeed, the poorest third of British households pay more in council tax than in income tax. Previously NPI have, in Council Tax - the Case For Reform, argued for re-banding, re-weighting and the revaluation of property. Also useful is Policy Library's resource page on local taxation and the council tax.

By New Policy Institute , UK.

Taxation Policy Resource.