• CTF holds annual gas tax event, reminds taxpayers of Premier Selinger's broken election promise not to increase taxes
• Taxes represented 25% of average pump price over the past year, will go up with 2.5 cent tax increase

Sign the CTF's Gas Tax Petition

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) held its annual gas tax honesty day event at the Manitoba Legislature today. Each year the CTF releases a report on the amount of tax dollars collected at the pumps and holds politicians accountable for how those dollars are spent.

This year the CTF reminded taxpayers of NDP Premier Greg Selinger’s promise during the election not to raise taxes and his decision to increase taxes by $184 million in the 2012 budget; including a 2.5 cent per litre increase in fuel taxes.

“The Premier said he wouldn’t increase taxes when he wanted peoples’ votes but then went ahead and increased taxes after the election,” said CTF Prairie Director Colin Craig. “It’s bizarre that politicians break their promises and then wonder why voter turnout is often low.”

When it comes to fixing Manitoba’s crumbling roads and highways, Craig did give the provincial government credit for putting gas tax dollars back into road repair. The CTF noted the solution is not to increase provincial taxes, but to convince the federal government to commit 100 per cent of fuel tax revenues into road repair.

“Instead of the province increasing gas taxes to fix our crumbling roads, we need to see the federal government start putting all the money they collect at the pumps back into roads,” added Craig. “Right now that’s not happening.”

The CTF’s 2012 gas tax honesty day report noted that over the past year, the average pump price in Manitoba was about $1.195 and of that approximately 25 per cent were taxes.

To download a copy of the report, click here.