Environmental Taxation (635-1)
Instructors
Genevieve Tokic
Meeting Info
McCormick 371: Wed 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Overview of class
Environmental challenges are increasing the pressure to find ways to balance economic growth with environmental protection. With increasing frequency, governments are using taxes as part of the toolkit to address climate change and other environmental pressures.
Environmental taxes are a market instrument used to influence taxpayer action. Environmental taxes can impose a tax cost on certain products or activities that may be environmentally damaging, or they can give a tax benefit to something viewed as environmentally beneficial. All types of taxes—income taxes, estate and wealth taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes—potentially can incorporate environmental tax measures. Such taxes can be imposed at the local, state, or federal level, and are also employed by many governments around the world.
Environmental taxes will not necessarily replace traditional environmental regulation. In some instances, they may complement regulation, and in others they may provide an option when regulation is not appropriate. In some cases, taxes can have a negative environmental effect by exacerbating environmental externalities.
In addition, tax advisors are playing a greater role in helping taxpayers address environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") considerations and disclosure requirements, in part because of the burgeoning number of environmental taxes, but also because of the tax and accounting functions' role in complying with mandatory disclosure requirements and voluntary reporting of ESG metrics.
In this course, students will:
• Examine theories of environmental taxation, and consider the role of tax law in addressing environmental and sustainability concerns more generally, including in regards to supporting private sector efforts towards sustainability and meeting ESG-related goals.
• Consider the role of market-based environmental instruments among the array of environmental policy instruments, including command-and-control regulation.
• Compare environmental taxation strategies throughout the world, including recently-enacted U.S. tax credits and other "green" expenditures, as well as various carbon tax instruments.
• Develop skills in reading and writing about technical statutory language and tax rules and regulations.
Class Attributes
JD Students May Enroll Only During Add/Drop
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Basic Tax OR LLM Tax