Tax a Baby, Save the Planet

From the New Zealand Herald:

[A]n Australian medical expert ... is calling for couples to be charged A$5000 ($5700) a head for any "extra" children they have - that's every child after their second. Professor Barry Walters even thinks parents should incur an annual tax of up to A$800 every year - for life.

But wait, there's a silver lining in that nappy. Coughing up under the controversial plan could help to save the planet, he writes in the latest Medical Journal of Australia. The lifelong tax would simply offset the extra offspring's carbon-dioxide emissions, he explains. What's more, couples who get sterilised would be eligible for carbon credits.

Additional press coverage:

• Australia Should Introduce a Baby Tax to Save the Planet, Doctor Says (Associated Press)
• Baby Levy to Combat Carbon Emissions (NEWS.com.au)
• Tax Babies, Save the Planet? (National Post)
• Tax Parents for Children's Carbon Emissions (CNS News)