ILSR’s Minnesota Carbon Tax Shift Archives

In the 1990s, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and other energy activists in Minnesota undertook an effort to get Minnesota to adopt a billion dollar "tax shift" that would have raised the cost of energy while reducing taxes on income and/or property. ILSR was integrally involved in the design of the legislative proposal and examined the impacts on various sectors of Minnesota’s economy. Below you will find the archive of the materials that were prepared to support the initiative. Over several years, the proposal was debated extensively but never enacted into law. … Read More

Improving the Efficiency of Minnesota’s Industries

Date: 5 Nov 2007 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This November 2007 report by David Morris and Ann Robertson evaluates the evaluates that issue by analyzing the impact of the proposed $1.5 billion tax shift legislation, the Economic Efficiency and Pollution Reduction Act (EEPRA) on Minnesota’s most energy-intensive business sectors and estimating the potential for those sectors to offset any increased tax burden through cost-effective efficiency improvements.

Under EEPRA, energy-intensive businesses would pay higher net taxes while energy-efficient businesses would pay lower net taxes. While this is an intended outcome of the tax shift, businesses in Minnesota are concerned that the tax shift could impose a competitive burden on certain sectors. 

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Report: Taxes, Agriculture, and Climate Change

Date: 5 Nov 1998 | posted in: agriculture, Energy | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This Novemeber 1998 report by David Morris and John Bailey examines the impact of a proposed $1.5 billion ecological tax shift proposal on Minnesota’s agricultural sector. Overall, the net impact is beneficial for Minnesota farmers that are growing crops. On a statewide level, the carbon tax raises costs to farmers by about $59.1 million while the property tax reduction lowers costs by $92 million. The benefit varies by crop and by farm size. Soybean farmers do better than corn farmers, large farmers do better than small farmers.… Read More

Report: The Effect of the Minnesota Ecological Tax Shift on Low Income Households

Date: 5 Mar 1997 | posted in: Energy, equity | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This March 1997 report by John Bailey and David Morris examines how the proposed $1.5 billion tax shift in Minnesota would impact low income households and offers ways to mitigate the net effect of the tax shift on these households. The Energy Efficiency and Pollution Reduction Act (EEPRA) is a revenue neutral measure proposed in Minnesota to increase energy taxes by $1.5 billion and to reduce existing taxes on labor or income by an equal amount.

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Report: The Minnesota Ecological Tax Shift: Impact Analysis on Individual Businesses

Date: 5 Feb 1997 | posted in: Energy, environment | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This February 1997 report by David Morris, Alyson Schiller, and John Bailey examines the impact of the proposed Economic Efficiency and Pollution Reduction Act (EEPRA). The bill’s introduction in the 1996 Minnesota State Legislature prompted a discussion about its impact on Minnesota businesses. This report addresses this question. It does so by assessing the net impact of several types of tax shifts on 23 Minnesota businesses, ranging from neighborhood coffee shops to equipment manufacturers and farmers and paper mills.

EEPRA imposes a tax on all fossil fuels and nuclear energy and reduces taxes on property and work. The tax in the form of a $50 fee per ton of carbon burned would raise $1.5 billion a year.

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Efficiency and Pollution Reduction Act (EEPRA) of 1996: Questions and Answers – Factsheet

A factsheet related to the proposed Energy Efficiency and Pollution Reduction Act (EEPRA) in Minnesota during 1996-1997. EEPRA is a revenue neutral measure that proposes to increase energy taxes by $1.5 billion and to reduce existing taxes on labor or income by an equal amount.… Read More

The Impact of Pollution Taxes on Industry – Factsheet 4

A factsheet related to the proposed Energy Efficiency and Pollution Reduction Act (EEPRA) in Minnesota during 1996-1997. EEPRA is a revenue neutral measure that proposes to increase energy taxes by $1.5 billion and to reduce existing taxes on labor or income by an equal amount.… Read More

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