Environmental Taxes, Cumulative Pollution Loads And Fiscal Balance

A central theme in the literature on environmental taxation is the effective means of taxation. The criteria for effectiveness whilst based on the attainment of pre-specified environmental standards such as caps on pollution loads also extend to institutional capabilities such as the ease of monitoring and enforcement. However, as a fiscal measure, the efficiency of environmental taxes needs to be also assessed by the notion of fiscal balance to deal with problems caused by cumulative pollution loads. This assessment is illustrated with reference to directing environmental taxes towards reforestation and sewerage treatment in Vietnam.