TORONTO, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is slamming tax-on-tax at the pumps, and warning against the threat of rising carbon taxes in Ontario and across the country. The cost of the Ontario carbon tax was highlighted as part of the CTF’s 19th annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, with press conferences held across the country.
“The Wynne government brought in a new tax at the pumps that we don’t see on our bills when we pay. That means we actually pay sales tax on top of this new tax, which is sneaky and must be stopped. If Wynne hadn’t brought in her new carbon tax, the price on the signs today would say $1.10 instead of $1.15,” said CTF Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn.
The CTF’s 2017 Gas Tax Honesty Day report shows that taxes make up most of the price difference from province to province, and even city to city. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have the lowest gas prices because they have the lowest gas taxes while Vancouver and Newfoundland have the highest prices because they have amongst the highest gas taxes.
The Ontario press conference highlighted the demands from politicians for ever-increasing carbon taxes, which include calls in leaked federal documents for a $300 per ton carbon tax by 2050, and Conservative leadership candidate Michael Chong’s calls for a $130 per ton carbon tax.
“The calls for $300 or $130 per ton carbon taxes show that politicians will never be satisfied with current levels of taxation. Filling up your car with a $300 per ton carbon tax would cost $116.35 instead of $73.75. Politicians should be focused on making life more affordable, not less. With no gas taxes at all, a fill up would be $46.73. That sounds great, and that’s the direction we should be going in,” concluded Van Geyn.
The 19th annual Gas Tax Honesty Day report including detailed calculations and breakdowns of gas taxes across the country can be found HERE.
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