A carbon tax, not a VAT

By Ezra Klein

I agree with Matt Yglesias on this: Every benefit you could name for a value-added tax also applies to a carbon tax. And a carbon tax also has the advantage of reducing carbon emissions and accelerating the development of renewable-energy technologies.

At this point, the politics of climate change are dismal. But the reality of the budget situation makes new taxes inevitable. Among the few promising routes left for climate hawks is convincing the political system that if we need more taxes, a carbon tax makes more sense than a VAT. Because we will need more taxes. Perhaps the fiscal crunch can do what climate science could not.