French Revolution! Carbon tax ruled unconstitutional just two days before taking effect
Watts Up With That?
01 Gennaio 2010
La tassa sulle emissioni di CO2 voluta da Sarkozy è dichiarata incostituzionale dalla suprema corte francese
This new French carbon tax was scheduled to go into law on Jan1,
2010. The tax was steep: 17 euros per ton of carbon dioxide (USD
$24.40). In a stunning move, and surely a blow to warmists everywhere,
the tax has been found unconstitutional and thrown out. Originally
found here (Google Translation).
Lord Monckton was kind enough to assist me in deciphering the meaning of the ruling and writes:
In France, if at least 60 Deputies of the House and
60 Senators appeal to the Constitutional Council, it has the power to
pronounce on the constitutionality of a proposed law – in the present
case, the 2010 national budget of France, which contained enabling
provisions (loi deferee) for a carbon levy. The Council
found that these enabling provisions were unconstitutional on two
grounds: that the exemptions contained within the provisions for a
carbon levy vitiated the primary declared purpose of the levy, to
combat carbon emissions and hence “global warming”; and that the
exemptions would cause the levy to fall disproportionately on gasoline
and heating oils and not on other carbon emissions, thereby breaching
the principle that taxation should be evenly and fairly borne.
The Press release from the French Constitutional Council is here in English (Google Translated) and in original French
Here’s a Deustch-Welle news article on the reversal.
France’s Constitutional Council says the country’s proposed
carbon tax is illegal. This is a severe blow to French President
Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to fight climate change.
France’s Constitutional Council has struck down a carbon tax that
was planned to take effect on January 1st. The council, which ensures
the constitutionality of French legislation, said too many polluters
were exempted in the measure and the tax burden was not fairly
distributed.
It was estimated that 93 percent of industrial emissions outside of
fuel use, including the emissions of more than 1,000 of France’s top
polluting industrial sites, would be exempt from the tax, which would
have charged 17 euros per ton of emitted carbon dioxide.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has argued the tax is necessary to
combat climate change and reduce the country’s dependence on oil.
However, the council’s ruling is a severe blow to both Sarkozy’s
environmental plan as well as France’s budget for 2010. The government
now has to find a way to come up with about 4.1 billion euros in
revenue that was expected from the tax.
h/t to WUWT reader Dirk H
Source > Watts Up With That?