U.S. Energy Policy: Impacts of an Increased Federal Revenue Neutral Gasoline Tax
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Date
2008-05-27T17:45:18Z
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Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
The future holds significant challenges for the United States
with regard to clean, inexpensive, and reliable energy resources. Of
these energy challenges, issues relating to transportation fuels appear
to be some of the most acute and serious. The price of gasoline does
not reflect the true societal costs due to a variety of market
externalities. Domestic energy policy must investigate new proposals
that offer insight into possible solutions.
The following thesis reviews geopolitical risks associated with
current U.S. petroleum consumption trends. It also discusses the role
gasoline taxes might have in mitigating certain amounts of demand
growth. The gasoline taxes that are investigated are revenue neutral.
This concept entails returning all revenue raised by any increased tax
to consumers with reductions in other tax burdens. While this idea is
somewhat radical in nature and politically complex, the consequences of
increased gasoline taxes may be socially beneficial.
The following study finds that gasoline is one of the most
important products in modern society. As such, reducing its consumption
is extremely difficult. However, increasing the cost of gasoline by
raising taxes can influence demand to some degree. An increased revenue
neutral gasoline tax could prove to be part of an effective overall
U.S. energy policy.