Carbon taxes: the European Commission taxes the goods of the poor and exempts the yachts of the super-rich
According to a new report by Transport & Environment (T&E) entitled " Climate Impacts of Exemptions to EU's Shipping Propos als" exemptions undermine the integrity of shipping laws ", more than half of European ships will be exempted from taxation for the use of fuels based on carbon applied by the European Commission for the naval transport sector. The scandalous thing is that… the yachts of the super rich will be exempted. .
According to the report, in July 2021 the European Commission published a series of proposals to decarbonise the maritime sector. However, what is not silently mentioned is that the proposed Carbon Charging System (ETS) and Low Greenhouse Gas Fuel Standard (FuelEU Maritime) will only apply to ships over 5,000 GT. . therefore to be exempted would be, rightly, fishing boats and … yachts for the rich and super rich, those magnificent ships that come to stop in Costa Smeralda or Montecarlo.
Yet their carbon footprint is by no means low.
Last summer the European Commission, that is the highest association of bureaucracy destined to oppress people, proposed to exempt private jets, the most polluting means of transport, from the planned European tax on aircraft fuel. A draft indicated that the tax would be phased in for passenger flights, including those carrying freight. Private jets will enjoy an exemption through the classification of "business aviation" as the use of aircraft by companies for the transport of passengers or goods as an "aid in carrying out their business", if generally considered not for public rental. Better yet: a further exemption is granted for "pleasure" flights where an aircraft is used for "personal or recreational" purposes not associated with business or professional use. so the super rich, those who use the Jet to go to Davos, will pay no fuel tax.
This is strange because a recent report found that CO2 emissions from private jets in Europe increased by 31% between 2005 and 2019, with flights to popular destinations significantly increased during the summer holiday seasons. So, if Europe were really concerned about reducing Naturally emissions, since they are mostly billionaires and ultra-rich who fly privately, and these have managed to be exempt from the regulations (which are usually written by politicians who the ultra rich have previously bribed or bought) that apply to others. We went back to the period before the French Revolution, where the Very Rich Nobility was exempt from taxes, paid by the Third Estate. But, at the time, then there was a revolution.
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The article Carbon taxes: the European Commission taxes the goods of the poor and exempts the yachts of the super-rich comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/tasse-sul-carbonio-la-commissione-europea-tassa-le-merci-dei-poveri-ed-esenta-gli-yacht-dei-super-ricchi/ on Fri, 14 Jan 2022 19:10:46 +0000.