CARBON TAX SPECIAL

This Sunday, July 1, will be the day the carbon tax commences and carbon pollution will carry a price. While the carbon tax has been saturated with media coverage, there has been a real lack of factual information on the scheme. As noted by a recent survey by accounting software company MYOB, 42 per cent of small to medium business operators didn't have a good understanding of the impact the tax will have on their business. Also a number of large Australian businesses are also still to get their head around what it all means to them.

To help address some of the confusion and misinformation Business Spectator and Climate Spectator have brought together a range of articles into one place that help clarify some of the big questions around the carbon tax:

1) What will be the impact on industry

-- Who will pay the carbon tax?

-- What will be the price on carbon?

-- What are the likely financial impacts for different industries?

-- Opinions from leading business people, advisors, politicians and lobbyists

2) What business should be doing to adapt to the carbon tax

-- The need to improve management of data on energy and carbon emissions

-- The need to be careful around price claims related to the carbon tax

-- The potential to offset the impact of the carbon tax through benchmarking energy use

-- ACCC ready to crack down on carbon cheats

3) What will be the flow-on consequences for households

-- Impacts on energy and food costs

-- How households could reduce or counter the impact through energy efficiency

-- Will it push interest rates higher?

4) Is the carbon price here to stay?

-- Coalition says will scrap tax within 12 months, if elected

-- Business expect it to stay

-- Four reasons Abbott won't repeal – Daniel Palmer

-- Why it's likely to stay – Reuters

-- Would business have to be compensated if it were rescinded?

-- What if the carbon price is repealed?

-- Gillard is sinking, Abbott is stranded

-- Betting on Canberra question marks - Alan Kohler

Latest news in the build-up

-- Households to share billions in carbon compensation

-- Gillard banks on carbon commonsense

-- Abbott fails to censure PM on carbon tax

-- Carbon tax will create green jobs: Milne

-- Combet says carbon price will win through

-- Carbon farming not just hot air

Other commentary pieces on the carbon tax

-- Coles will sell the Gillard carbon tax - Rob Burgess

-- Will social media kill the carbon tax? - Burgess

-- A one-off carbon bonanza - Burgess

-- Australia's crushing climate trap - Kohler

-- Spooked by Abbott's carbon price hype - Tristan Edis

-- Is the carbon tax a waste of time? - Edis

-- 2 cheers (1 blood oath) for climate law - Giles Parkinson