Abstract
Some prefectural governments introduce a prefectural original tax—the forest tax—to preserve a high common value of forests. On the basis of this point, this paper analyzes the prefectural forest tax as an example of environmental policies.
According to the analysis, in the prefectures where the forest tax is levied, the main purpose for the introduction of the tax is considered to be the importance of the symbolic value of cooperation among citizens for preservation of the forest, rather than the prefectural government’s financial support to preserve the prefectural forest area.
As a result, the reason for the introduction of a tax does not burden citizens with total responsibility for the deterioration of the forest environment caused by economic activity, the “Polluter Pays Principle”. Instead it includes both the effect of the announcement of protection of the forest on the society and the purpose of awareness-raising activities for the forest, based on assumptions that protection of the forest increases the social benefits for the population as a whole.
JEL Classification: Q58, R58
