Stealth Taxes Don't Work When It Comes To The Environment

11.04.28am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 27th Sep 2004

Susan Kramer, PPC for Richmond Park

Stealth taxes don't work as a trigger for radical policies for the environment and often fail to change the behaviour of businesses and individuals.Speaking in the debate 'Making Markets Work for the Environment' at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Bournemouth Susan Kramer, PPC for Richmond Park said: "Under Labour stealth taxes have become common practice and have fallen into disrepute. Take the fuel tax as an example - it raises revenue - no doubt about that - but it rarely acts a disincentive to car usage which has grown steadily in the UK.

"Largely replacing fuel tax with a charge when people use their cars and adjusting that charge based on congestion and the availability of alternatives like decent public transport would be far more effective,

"Businesses particularly need to be persuaded to take account of the environment in the decisions they make.

"Ms Kramer focused ways to turn businesses into a force for sustainability rather than treating them as an enemy as they often are today. She argued for replacing taxation on many polluters with a 'cap and trade' approach. Government sets a cap on pollution levels but companies can trade between each other permits to pollute, enabling those who reduce their pollution levels to win out financially.

"A system of "cap and trade" instead of taxation provides companies with the incentive to develop non-polluting technologies and operating methods. It is focussed on achieving changes to make business sustainable. Its purpose, which is to change behaviour, is clear and it is free from any hidden agenda by the Treasury to raise money by stealth taxes.

Ms Kramer who is one of the contributors to the "Orange Book" which has proposed challenging policy ideas, said: "Liberal Democrats believe fundamentally in sustainable development but we have always valued choice, flexibility and creativity in the search to achieve our goals. We prefer market-driven solutions to central government direction."