The
natural resources consumption tax is a kind of
taxTo tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law.Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
to help ensure the long run
sustainabilitySustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time...
by making people be more aware of
natural resourceNatural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity existent in various ecosystems.Natural resources are derived from the environment...
consumptionConsumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally consumption is defined by opposition to production. But the precise definition can vary because different schools of economists define production quite differently...
.
The popular conception of
international watersThe terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands...
is that there is no owner of them, so anyone can take advantage of them. Some propose that instead international waters are to be seen as owned by all the people of the planet. Hence, any particular person exploiting the natural resources of international waters should be taxed by the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
, any proxy of it, or some other international agency.
At present,
property lawProperty law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
s govern this issue.
The
natural resources consumption tax is a kind of
taxTo tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law.Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
to help ensure the long run
sustainabilitySustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time...
by making people be more aware of
natural resourceNatural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity existent in various ecosystems.Natural resources are derived from the environment...
consumptionConsumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally consumption is defined by opposition to production. But the precise definition can vary because different schools of economists define production quite differently...
.
International water
The popular conception of
international watersThe terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands...
is that there is no owner of them, so anyone can take advantage of them. Some propose that instead international waters are to be seen as owned by all the people of the planet. Hence, any particular person exploiting the natural resources of international waters should be taxed by the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
, any proxy of it, or some other international agency.
Sovereignty territory
At present,
property lawProperty law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
s govern this issue. Natural resources are bound to the land and offshore natural resources are deemed to be owned by the
stateA sovereign state is a political association with effective internal and external sovereignty over a geographic area and population which is not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state...
. Generally speaking, there is no tax on the consumption of natural resources. It might be difficult to
implementImplementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy....
such a tax.
In
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, the state owns most of the natural resources, so a natural resources consumption tax was implemented in 1984.
Stumpage System
The
stumpageStumpage is the price charged by a land owner to companies or operators for the right to harvest timber on that land. Stumpage used to be calculated on a "per stump" basis . It is now usually charged by tons, board feet or by cubic metres....
fee can also be deemed as a kind of natural resources consumption tax.