GLOBAL SUBSIDIES INITIATIVE
Subsidy WatchIssue 27, September 2008
Commentary
News
The German federal government has defended itself against the charge that it has not been fulfilling its WTO obligations to notify its trade-distorting subsidies.
A German parliamentary committee posed a series of questions to the federal government after the FiFo Institute for Public Economics of the University of Cologne and the Global Subsidies Initiative released a report that accused Germany of vastly under reported its subsidies to the WTO.
The European Commission has taken aggressive steps in its effort to reign in subsidy corruption in new Member States by cutting off millions of Euros worth of subsidies to Romania and Bulgaria. The decision came after scathing reports on both countries detailed high-level corruption and improper administration of European funds.
In all, the Commission froze almost €500 million in farming and structural aid to Bulgaria and €28 million in agricultural aid to Romania.
Mexico’s president announced that the country’s fuel subsidies will reach US$ 25 billion in 2008, up from the US$ 19 billion forecasted earlier in the year. Fuel subsidies in Mexico have nearly quadrupled since last year.
Mexico, the world’s sixth largest oil producer, will pay for the subsidies using proceeds from oil exports, said President Calderon.
Studies
-
United Nations warns against energy subsidies
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has called on governments to reform subsidies to fossil fuels as a means to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
The report, “Reforming Energy Subsidies: Opportunities to Contribute to the Climate Change Agenda”, provides an overview of the studies that have attempted to quantify the size of energy subsidies, before reviewing the economic, social and environmental impacts that have been linked to their use.
-
US taxpayers provide 20 billion dollars in subsidies for executive salaries according to report
Taxpayers in the United States are subsidizing the salaries of country's top business executives to the tune of US$ 20 billion a year, according to a report by the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).
The report "Executive Excess 2008: How Average Taxpayers Subsidize Runaway Pay," presents the result of IPS' 15th Annual CEO Compensation Survey, which highlights five major tax and accounting loopholes it argued were directing taxpayer dollars to fund excessive executive pay.
www.globalsubsidies.org
- Email:
- info [at] globalsubsidies [dot] org
- Tel:
- +41 22 917 88 48
- Fax:
- +41 22 917 80 54
9, Chemin de Balexert, office 5-53
1219 Châtelaine, Geneva
Switzerland
website by EthicalStudios.com
Norman Myers, an environmental scientist, is the author of the book Perverse Subsidies: Tax $s Undercutting our Economies and Environments Alike. He is currently completing a new book called How Institutions Block Our Road to Sustainability. He also serves as a member of the High-Level Advisory Group of the Global Subsidies Initiative. The GSI reached Mr. Myers at his home in Oxford, England.