UK Government Introduces “Stealth Tax” on Green Energy
It is simply crazy. As we are grinding into the worst economic slump for a century, simple things like heating bills are going up and up.Those from lower income backgrounds, particularly old people, are the ones who are especially at risk in terms of health. They are the ones who need to be able to stay warm the most in winter. Yet they are increasingly unable to pay their rising gas bills to stay warm.
We constantly hear advertising campaigns by multinational oil companies as well as government departments talking about Green, Renewable Energy. It’s supposed to be the answer to the world’s problems. You can save money and save the world at the same time – its just perfect. With this mantra on their lips, they win votes and build wind farms, supposedly for our benefit.
However the latest initiative by the UK government reveals the truth behind this egalitarian rhetoric. The plan is called the “Renewable Heating Incentive”, and aims to construct a large number of wind farms and solar energy facilities to reduce reliance on fast depleting and environmentally unfriendly fossil fuel sources. Now you’d think that the responsibility for paying for these developments would land at the feet of global energy giants – but you’d be wrong. The money to fund this scheme is ultimately going to come from ordinary people’s pockets! The plan aims to charge a levy to energy providers using fossil fuels. The big friendly energy company, however, is planning on paying for this cost by increasing home gas and electric costs.
Electricty prices increased by 26% over the last year, and gas prices by 59%. This meant that millions had to think twice about switching on their portable heaters. Going green has been touted as a way for people struggling to pay their bills to lower their costs. But this new legislation harms the poorest in society. Essentially what this will mean is that those with more secure and higher incomes will be the ones who can afford to switch to green energy sources for their homes. But if you can’t, and resort to using fan heaters or oil filled radiators to warm your house when the temperatures drop, you’ll be hit with higher energy bills. This will be the case even with the proposed low interest loans being offered to carry out the work. It’s unlikely that a family that is already struggling to pay their gas and electic, not to mention interest on existing debts, will be willing to take on more debt, whetever the interest rate may be. One thing we learned from the introduction of student loans, at the time touted as a measure to make university more accessible to lower income families, is that only the middle classes are prepared to put themselves in such debt on top of everything else.
Now tell me, does this seem fair to you? Far better would be taxing the energy companies directly and getting hold of a tiny fraction of their trillions of dollars of profit. This money could then be used to provide green energy refubishment to those on lower incomes who are struggling to pay the bills, so that their bills can be reduced. Please contribute your thoughts on this matter.