Depends what he does with the money.
The Guardian reports that Mr. Brown wants to tax 4x4s and air travel as a response to the Stern report on climate change. In principle I think this is a good idea, at least in the next few years until we can get a real market in the cost of GHG emissions which would allow a market-driven pricing of the externalities of burning fossil fuels. However I am suspicious that the real reason Mr. Brown is advocating these new taxes is not to drive cleaner, more environmentally friendly behavior, but to get his hands on yet more of the country’s money (because of course he knows better than the rest of us what is good for us)… It would make me feel much better if these new taxes were to be hypothecated – with the proceeds ring-fenced for the development of alternative transport and energy infrastructure.
