No, I’m not kidding. Truly, idiocy has no bounds.
In Spain, they appear to have actually done this, with fines up to 30 million Euros for non compliance.
The stupid, it sunburns. Air will be next. Breath tax.
From MISH’S Global Economic Trend Analysis:
link to Google translated article: El Pais, Spain Privatizes The Sun
If you get caught collecting photons of sunlight for your own use, you can be fined as much as 30 million euros.
If you were thinking the best energy option was to buy some solar panels that were down 80% in price, you can forget about it.
…
“The Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF), which brings together some 300 companies representing 85% of the industry, ensures that, implemented these changes, it would be more expensive solar consumption resorting to conventional supply. “It prevents the savings to consumers and paralyzes the entry of new competition in the electricity market,” contemplate. ”
Source: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/07/spain-levies-consumption-tax-on-sunlight.html
h/t to OSSqss
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rafaelneville says: “Regarding the electric sector in Spain, yes, they’ve been swindling the people for at least 40 years or more. Their rates are the highest in Europe, despite being leaders in windmills.”
Despite??? You can’t be serious. You obviously forgot the /sarc.
Ah George, we miss you and your insightful lyrics. That and rumour has it you played a great guitar 🙂
Boy do we miss you.
During the American Revolution, there was a popular song, “The Junto Song,” a satirical song about British tax collection. The last verse is —
We’ll force and fraud in one unite,
To bring them to our hands;
Then lay a tax on the sun’s-light,
Then lay a tax on the sun’s-light,
And King’s tax on their lands –
And King’s tax on their lands!
And a-taxing we will go,
A-taxing we will go,
A-taxing we will go,
A-taxing we will go.
But back then it was satire.
This is all part of the Agenda 21 theme. Maryland has a ‘rain tax’. As government continues to get bigger, more intrusive, the statists will think of all sorts of ways to steal all the wealth from the private and control every aspect of our lives.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/11/heres-whats-included-in-marylands-controversial-rain-tax-its-exactly-what-it-sounds-like/
Bastiat is laughing in his grave. I’ve been saying the ultimate goal of the radical environmentalists is to control our very breath for years. I’m glad to see others are coming to the same conclusion.
@Mark –
I’d throw anyone who came up with this incredible-beyond-incredible idea into solitary and weld the cell door shut, then take ’em out when you smell the corpse. It gets to the point where the climate criminals, if they can, will regulate every breath we take based on some cockamamie measurement of how much CO2 we’re exhaling.
Not much different than the various plans to tax electric cars for the gas they didn’t use. (oregon, Washington, Virginia, Texas…)
Sadly the lunacy of Government.
In the UK, the tax is on fuel use. So if you make your own biodiesel and use it as fuel, you owe the tax. Even if you were able to use water, tax would be due. To make sure you get the point UK Gov does not mess around with such arcane matters as a mechanism for you to pay said tax, they just bankrupt you for tax evasion.
Plus if you made your own alcohol fuel they would do you for illegal distillation.
In the uk, They have you by the ……………………….
No way out.
The plan surely sounds funny but you don’t seem to understand that it’s mainly a clever way to get some subsidies paid to the solar barons back from them. One simply has to be creative to undo such sins of the past.
that really is what it is all about. control and money. the climate “debate ” is just for you folks to jump up and down about the distraction while the thugs (government) steal your money and your future.
cheers …it isn’t going to get better anytime soon.
Anthony,
if you’re visiting a health resort in Europe, you already pay a breath tax.
@Mike Jonas
Water in your property should be yours as you paid for your property.
But since Spain is a Neo-Feudal state and everything belongs to the state, you have to pay your serfdom fees.
Without forgetting that in Galicia, where the article is centered, the least problem they have is water scarcity. Rain there is as common or more than in England.
I didn’t intend to compare both. Just point out that it is being taxed as well.
Continuous state interference in peoples lives.
@jorge
Obviously it’s sarcasm…
There is no bigger swindle than renewables.
The windmills are actually secondary source energy, not even primary, because their motors are synchronous, these depend from a primary source, which in this case is a power plant.
These motors as well are more troublesome and leak oil.
During the great storm in scotland some years ago one of these burnt away. Cool photos.
In germany they use of the other types.
I spoke with the author of “ataquealpoder” blog, a friend of mine, and told him about this subject.
He’ll be posting it next week. I highly reccomend you this blog. He got menaced by the energy companies for his four post special.
https://ataquealpoder.wordpress.com/category/el-mentiroso-recibo-de-la-luz/
Lubos Motl says:
July 26, 2013 at 10:38 pm
“The plan surely sounds funny but you don’t seem to understand that it’s mainly a clever way to get some subsidies paid to the solar barons back from them. One simply has to be creative to undo such sins of the past.”
Lubos, that’s why I said in a comment, disturbances beget more disturbances. This will of course not be the last one. Meddling begets attempts at countermeddling, but each intervention causes unwanted side effects. Now, self sufficiency has become a crime in Spain – this was not the desired outcome by the meddlers but self sufficiency just became roadkill. Would you trust in that bureaucracy to fix more problems than it solves? Me neither.
I think Lubos (July 26, 2013 at 10:38 pm) has nailed it. It has been the feast, the hangover has passed too, and now we must pay the bill.
Just a sample, between 2004 and 2010 anyone could get money loans is Spain for building solar farms, no need of guarantees because there weren’t any risk, the rentability was warranted by the own administration (premiums for renewables). So companies, and many (well-connected) small investors made millions at the expense of the money of all the spaniards. And meanwhile, our deficit growing up monstrously (40 billions of dollars now), and President Zapatero boasting of being the greenest leader of the world, the king of the unicorns.
And now that the bill must be paid, as I said above, the ridiculousness of the tax does not count, just they have to balance legal certainty with who should pay the joke… And guess who gets the brunt.
As Daniel above (July 26, 2013 at 11:41 am) clearly points: “it’s only a small step when you already have a socialist energy system”.
Please note that Spain has a right-wing government, whatever that means in general and in Spain in particular.
Sadly, they did not invent anything: in Israel it is forbidden to collect rain water for home use, or for any other use for that.
Even if all the water run out to sea… (You could argue this is somewhat different since these waters could eventually reach the reservoirs, but if you live by the sea there is no chance for that).
As was stated above – stupidity has no boundaries.
Txomin says: “Please note that Spain has a right-wing government, whatever that means in general and in Spain in particular.”
Well, only theoretically, in Economy they are social democratic and Keynesian at its finest.
Just shows how desperate Spain is for money.
I can’t seem to find any original Spanish source for this story. The trail seem to lead to Cuban and Costa Rican web sites. WUWT?
For God’s Sake don’t tell the Greek government that! We’re already paying a ‘Solidarity Tax’ via our electric bills. (We’ve got a fair amount of sunshine too)
rafaelneville says:
July 27, 2013 at 1:18 am
“Water in your property should be yours as you paid for your property.”
Unfortunately it is not that simple. It all depends upon the source of that water. Is the water surface or underground? Is it running or percolating? Is it for private or commercial use?
Florida has laws that cover those situations, although there are some vague areas that always need to be settled by the courts on a case by case basis.
Now concerning domestic use of water from a well, Florida recognizes the land owner using water from a well on his land can have unlimited use of that water, as long as it does not cause harm to a neighbor. So one does not own the water, no one does, but we have access and use of that water by law.
So Spain has given subsidies to solar providers, and now wants to get the subsidies back in taxes. Why not just eliminate the subsidies in the first place?
“Finally something I can comment on this blog and be useful!”
heh, nobody else here places such a limitation on themselves. Just sayin’!
“Alan D McIntire says:
July 27, 2013 at 6:10 am”
There is no “profit” in that!