[SustainableTompkins] QUICK IDEA!: Tax on Non-Local Foods

[Simon St.Laurent]

Ryan Hottle wrote:
> *Imagine we put a tax/tariff on all non-local foods.  The tax would be
> assessed to the companies who sold or distributed the food as opposed to the
> purchaser.*

It's a fun idea, but unfortunately it can't presently be implemented 
from the local level up.  As soon you touch out-of-state products, it's 
interstate commerce, where federal regulations _only_ apply.  I don't 
think there's an easy around it - the existence of these kinds of taxes 
under the Articles of Confederation was something the framers of the 
Constitution wanted to prohibit.

I'd be happy for that to change, or happy to see Congress consider this, 
but unfortunately it's a hard place to start.

Thanks,
Simon St.Laurent
http://livingindryden.org/