Environmental taxation in the digital world

Abstract

As the digital economy rapidly unfolds, the time is right to consider how governmental policies might avoid or minimize adverse consequences of this new economic revolution. This chapter explores the potential for environmental pricing to address the digital world's negative environmental externalities. To provide a concrete context, it delves into selected pockets of digital life: the digital world's infrastructure, in particular spectrum and electricity; online retail, with a focus on packaging and drone delivery; major tech headquarters and new forms of transportation that influence the urban landscape; and digital payment systems that change how we pay taxes. These vignettes can provide only a partial glimpse into the implications of the Digital Revolution for the theory and practice of environmental taxes, but they highlight the question of whether environmental taxation should innovate alongside the technological changes that drive economies and society.