Ecological Footprint Tax for the Development of Local Agribusiness

Abstract

The concept of ecological footprint tax (EFT) can be developed to cover the whole economy, but as a first experimental step, this paper suggests to introduce it in agriculture and food industry. The EFT is expected to mitigate two of the greatest anxieties of people in developed and semi-developed world: (rural) unemployment and climate change. The proposed arctan relation between the ecological footprint of products and the tax to be paid would result in a fairer allocation of tax charges (rich big-consumers having to pay much higher tax than low-polluter average people), assure sustainability for both the ecosystem and local economy (the tax charge itself depending first of all on the distance a product is to be shipped to the customer), and allow a healthier diet (local production, reaching the customers within much shorter time period than imports, not having to be stuffed with preservatives).