French President fights to save flagship carbon tax

Financial Times – Nicolas Sarkozy’s government was scrambling to salvage its flagship carbon tax yesterday after the constitutional council struck down the measure just two days before it was due to come into force.The council, which rules on the validity of laws passed by the French parliament, said the tax on emissions by households and businesses violated the equality principle because of its many exemptions.The decision is a blow to the French president, who has argued that a carbon tax is necessary to combat climate change. France would have become the biggest economy to levy a carbon tax had it come into force tomorrow as planned, strengthening Mr Sarkozy’s hand in lobbying for a European carbon tax on imports to the bloc.The new tax was expected to raise €1.5bn ($2.1bn, £1.3bn) in 2010 and the council’s decision will put added pressure on the budget deficit, forecast at 8.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2010. Read Article

Ed – If you ever wondered why politicians would go along with the global warming scam we have bolded the relevant text

Tags: climate, debt & wealth, Europe, financial system