How about this, from today's Financial Times (Call for tax on livestock emissions By Javier Blas in London, 19th February 2010):
Livestock should be taxed to reduce the contribution made by their flatulence to greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations said yesterday in a report that will give anti livestock campaigners fresh ammunition.
The novel suggestion by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation to use taxation comes as campaigners focus on the impact on climate change of emissions of methane from cattle, sheep and pigs.
Have you ever heard anything so stupid? Cows are well known to belch methane gases as they ruminate and digest. Methane is a noxious greenhouse gas. Blah! Blah!
How about Mr Phiri in Malawi tending his ONE cow? While large beef and dairy farms in the UK employ advisors and tax consultants to optimise their tax bill, Mr Phiri will meet the Malawian tax inspector and be hit with a demand for, say, 100 Kwacha or goodness knows how much these people can dream of charging. Mr Phiri will have no one to advise him.
The poor will pay this tax, as always. Then again, real enforcement will be a nightmare and the French will demand that all cows must be French speaking cows and they will want a subsidy for them anyway.
Crass!
DW
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