Farmers condemn New Zealand’s proposed tax on animal burps

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s government on Tuesday proposed taxing the greenhouse gasses that farm animals make from burping and peeing as part of a plan to tackle climate change. The government said the farm levy would be a world first and that farmers should be able to recoup the cost by charging more for climate-friendly products. But farmers quickly condemned the plan. The liberal Labour government’s proposal harks back to a similar but unsuccessful proposal made by a previous Labour government in 2003 when it proposed taxing farm animals for their methane emissions.