American taxpayers are quite often skeptical and critical of federal government bureaucracies. That skepticism is amplified when applied to international institutions like the United Nations and European Union.
In fact, a February 2012 Gallup poll showed that 61 percent of Americans said that the U.N. is doing a poor job in trying to solve problems versus 32 percent that said the U.N. is doing a good job. The EU doesn’t do much better. According to a June 2012 Pew Research Center poll, “majorities in five of eight countries surveyed think that such economic integration has actually weakened their nation’s economy.” Despite these numbers both the EU and U.N. are trying to grow their bureaucratic overreach instead of shrink it by moving full-steam ahead with global taxes on carbon emissions and tobacco that will affect American consumers and taxpayers.
The EU is moving to set a tax on carbon emissions. According to USA Today, “The European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme sets a cap on carbon emissions and then charges airlines for flights to or from the continent. The industry group Airlines for America estimates the program could cost U.S. carriers $3 billion over the next decade. U.S. airlines have opposed the system as an unfair tax on flights outside Europe, and China and India have refused to participate in the program.”
The idea of the EU imposing taxes on American travelers also has at least one member of Congress concerned. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., introduced a bill in 2011 “to prevent the European Union from adding a tax on flights traveling through U.S. airspace.” Senator Thune’s office calculated that this EU-imposed emissions tax will cost U.S. air travelers and carriers a whopping $3.1 billion dollars between 2012 and 2020.
Not only will this emissions tax harm the economy, it is a blatant violation of international law. While an outside cash stream is an easy way to raise funds, the EU cannot ignore the reality it is in direct violation of the law. How would the EU respond if the tables were turned and the United States sought to enact a tax on citizens of the EU? Perhaps the EU could spend its time more wisely by examining ways to reduce spending and tighten its pocketbooks. And if it still desires more money to quench its propensity to spend, then nothing is stopping the EU countries from raising taxes on their own citizens.