Cow Tax?
Jeff I must admit that I thought the e-mail blast from Theshowbox.com was a hoax the first time I read it. The thing sounds like another government action that sounds insane until you hear the entire story but I've yet to see what "the rest of the story" is.
Regardless, it's something everyone who takes the time to read this site should most certainly read...
Wyoming Farm Bureau Cow Tax Press Release
“With the economy in bad shape and the possibility of a deep recession looming, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to levy new taxes—on cows and pigs,” American Bureau Federation Director of Regulatory Relations Rick Krause told Bureau members at their annual meeting. Krause spoke in Sheridan on Nov. 7.“This is no laughing matter,” Krause said. “The cow tax and the pig tax are parts of a larger scheme by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.”
“Under the proposal, if a state charged the “presumptive minimum rate” from the EPA, the cow tax would be $175 per dairy cow, $87.50 per head for beef cattle and a little more than $20 per pig,” Krause explained.
Krause explained that the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that a producer with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs would emit more than 100 tons of carbon and be subject to the permitting requirements. “These thresholds would impact 99 percent of dairy producers, over 90 percent of beef producers and 95 percent of hog producers in the United States,” Krause stated.
According to Krause, the EPA has issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in preparation to regulate automobile greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA). “The regulation of automobile emissions automatically initiates other provisions of the CAA,” Krause explained. “One of those provisions requires permits from anyone who emits more than 100 tons of a regulated pollutant per year and there are millions of sources that emit more than 100 tons of carbon.”
The Title V permits, that are essentially a cow and pig tax, are supposed to contain provisions designed to reduce or eliminate the emissions of the regulated pollutant. “Cows and pigs methane emissions come from natural and biological processes,” Krause stated.
CLICK HERE for a story on it from Beef Magazine.