Posted: April 28th, 2015

Ministerial Report

You are asked to produce a report – you may be a government official from an agency concerned with tax policy or the environment, or you may be from a potentially affected industry.
Your Government has used the excise system successfully to introduce excise and differential excise rates for all different types of fuel.
The air is becoming cleaner from consumers opting for the cleanest burning fuels for their vehicles and businesses.
As such, the Government wants to extend this excise-based initiative to other industries or other activities that pollute the environment. Select a single industry or activity other than fuel that may be polluting the environment in your country, and produce a report for the Minister of Finance indicating:
• What the industry or activity is;
• How an excise could be introduced to it;
• What considerations are required in setting the rates;
• Would there be exceptions and why;
• What impacts would there be – positive and negative from this new excise; and
Any other issues which need to be identified for analysis

Purpose of assignment
To gauge the student’s level of understanding of how excise is interacting with broader Government policies, and the sorts of policy considerations which are required when this occurs, including impact on consumers, business, government revenues, administration costs, compliance activities, etc.
Marking criteria
You will be assessed on:
• Your understanding of how excise sits in a wider Government strategy to tackle certain issues and how government must work through the various considerations as to how a new excise tax may impact on the economy;
• Evidence of your research (including research of electronically available information);
• your analytical skills and your ability to marshal relevant evidence to support an argument that is logically structured and the structure of your answer;
• Your recommendations;
• Presentation, format & professional/academic quality including your written expression, spelling & grammar.

Reference . Author-Date Style (or Harvard Style) and Numerical or Footnoting Systems
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The proposed structure:
Introduction
– Define excise tax
– Its implementation in the economic system;
o What it does
o How it is implemented
o Who implements it and for what reasons
– Introduce factory/industry sector carbon emissions as case study example

Body

– Why the industry sector produces so much carbon
o Industrial age, product manufacturing,
o Types of businesses that does it; factories
o Why factories emit CO2 in the first place
• the operations that emit it; burning substances? Etc
– Carbon tax
o Governments use of carbon tax in other industries
o Other countries as a contrasting example of its use
o Potential benefits of implementing a carbon tax
• Increased government revenue
• Administration costs
• Putting a cap on carbon emissions
• Environmental impact and its benefits
o Policy considerations;
• What blocks a carbon tax excise
• Political influence/persuasion
• Various influences; business sector, additional costs for businesses, market repercussions
• Pro’s and con’s; evaluate both sides of the coin
• What policy considerations are considered before implementing such an excise
• Who would oppose such a thing?
• Who would be for such a thing?
• Who would be affected and why from an excise tax on carbon emissions?
o If an excise was placed on the industry sector for reduction of carbon emissions…
• How it would be implemented effectively
• Comparing and contrasting from past excises
• Positive and negative impacts of an excise on the industry sector
• Compliance necessities and considerations

Conclusion
– Summarise the main point of your argument
o Would an excise tax on the industry sector be a positive or negative thing and why
o Is something like a tax on the industry sector a realistic thing
• Is it likely to happen in the near future
o Recommendations for its development or implementation or consideration