Last night, sometimes-pundit Daniel Fontaine tweeted out a suggestion for TransLink:
Gas prices have fallen over 30% since last summer. If mayors need new revenue, they should look at existing gas taxes 1st @jonathanxcote
— Daniel Fontaine (@Fontaine_D) December 2, 2014
Oh brother. First, TransLink already collects 17 cents per litre in gas tax – plus takes another five cents per litre from the federal gas tax rebate system. The TransLink tax puts the Lower Mainland into a deadheat with Montreal for the highest gas taxes in North America – meanwhile Abbotsford and US gas stations see huge numbers of Canadians buying cheaper gas (because even when the price dips here, the price also drops there, protecting their competitive advantage).
But the biggest problem with this plan is that to generate the $400 million TransLink wants, it would need to more than double its current 17 cents per litre tax, which generates in the range of $350 million per year. Factor in the Laffer curve, and you’d need add 25 cents per litre more in tax to generate the revenue the mayors demand. Want to pay 75 cents per litre in gas tax – 50% more than any other jurisdiction in North America?
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Want to know the kind of reindeer games the pro-TransLink side will play in order to fool people into giving the region’s most hated and wasteful government agency more money? Check out this tweet from CBC BC News:
Mayors decide TransLink referendum question this week http://t.co/NPVdxWsquU pic.twitter.com/hsZKGgDz5W
— CBC British Columbia (@cbcnewsbc) December 2, 2014
Straightforward headline, right? Now look at the pro TransLink tax side repackages it:
MT @cbcnewsbc: #MetroVan Mayors decide #Transit referendum question this week http://t.co/pBqOlcbP6i pic.twitter.com/f6HHfNbpcS #translink
— GetOnBoard BC (@GetOnBoardBC) December 2, 2014
Adorable – they don’t want you to know that the $400 million more they want in taxes would go to TransLink. So they use “transit” instead of TransLink. Yes, they think you are that gullible!
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Meanwhile, Global BC unearthed $100,000 in vehicle perks shared by TransLink’s top seven executives. So while you’re stranded on SkyTrain - or flippantly told to “go get a coffee” during shutdowns – TransLink execs are enjoying $1,000 a month in car leases, plus free parking, plus other perks. Check out Global’s story here:
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