On January 16, 2024, E&E Legal joined approximately 40 other free-market groups in releasing a coalition letter to Congress opposing the “PROVE IT Act,” which covertly lays the groundwork for a carbon tax. As the letter notes:
[T]he undersigned organizations want to express strong opposition to carbon tariffs and the PROVE IT Act. This legislation is a gateway for a carbon tax on imported goods and a domestic carbon tax.
It is shocking that legislators would contemplate advancing policy that would increase taxes, drive up prices for American families, harm workers and those on fixed incomes, and punish energy use. Yet this is precisely what a carbon tariff does. A carbon tariff is two taxes in one.
First, a carbon tariff is a tax on imported goods, borne by American consumers, workers, and businesses. Once the structure for imposing a carbon tariff has been established, it can then be used to impose a domestic carbon tax.
