Assignment for:

Sept. 7
1) Send me at least 3 citations for our literature review. You don't have to read it, just the title. Bibliographies are good too.

2) 1/2 the class will prepare a short summary of your green tax area to present to the class. I suggest you start with the following 2 sources:
Janet Milne et al., editors, Critical Issues In Environmental Taxation: International And Comparative Perspectives, Vol. 1 (Richmond Tax & Law 2003)
(On reserve in library)
Environmental taxes; Recent developments in tools for integration, European Enviro Agency (92 pgs) On website readings page under Aug. 31.

3) Over the next 3 weeks read the following:
-Environmental Taxes: An Introductory Primer, Milne (13 pages)
-Tax Reform that Agrees with Vermont, Vermont Fair Tax Coalition (37 pgs.)
-Taxing Pollution, Vermont Fair Tax Coalition (12 pgs)
All on Aug. 31 readings page.
-Tax Shift by Durning (at bookstore)

Sept. 14
1/2 the class will prepare a short summary of your green tax area to present to the class. I suggest you start with the following 2 sources:
Janet Milne et al., editors, Critical Issues In Environmental Taxation: International And Comparative Perspectives, Vol. 1 (Richmond Tax & Law 2003)
(On reserve in library)
Environmental taxes; Recent developments in tools for integration, European Enviro Agency (92 pgs) On website readings page under Aug. 31.

Sept. 21
Continue your literature search for Green taxes applied worldwide. Write a minimum 3(UG) or 5 page (GRADS) paper summarizing your findings. Complete readings assigned in week One.

Sept. 28
Do research to update FTC publication on existing taxes in Vermont.
1) Sales, income, property
2) Energy, fuel, etc.
3) Air and Water pollution
4) Waste
5) Land

Oct. 5
1) Summarize what you learned from your research about the purpose and history of the tax, or anything else you found out. Don't waste time finding additional info, just what you found out in digging up the data.
2) Any or all of the following:
a) Analyze the tax based on the economic principles of Pigouvian taxes or Coase property rights, or other ideas presented in class.
b) Analyze the tax based on any principles of taxation outlined in "TAX Shift" such as the 4 canons of taxation (someone borrowed my book so I can't look it up. Refer to the book.)
c) Analyze the tax based on Milne's "Environmental Taxes" An introductory Primer" such as;
page 1-2: Behavioral, cost internalizing, Revenue driven approaches, and page 5: Cost, effectiveness,complexity, etc.
3) Analyze according other principles of public revenue or finance learned in other courses.
4) Summarize your conclusions about this tax, including whether it should be raised, lowered, or eliminated, and why.
4) anything else I didn't think of.

Oct. 12
Apply the Fair tax coalition recommendations for tax shifting to data you have for 2004. This will give us a baseline for talking to the people next Tuesday. Please send before noon on tuesday so I can make a new pie chart.

Oct. 19
Complete revised numbers for 2004 using Fair Tax Recommendations. Work on editing Fair Tax book with highlighted sections by Brenda Hausauer.

Nov. 2
Complete editing for Brenda Hausauer. Prepare paper based on what your recommendations are for your area. Work with other members of your group to revise pie chart for your area: Waste, Air & Water, Land, Energy. Submit paper #3 on Nov. 16th summarizing your recommendations for your area of Green taxes.