VANCOUVER, B.C.: Following media reports that the BC government won’t raise the carbon tax as part of its climate plan announcement this Friday, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is cautiously optimistic that Premier Christy Clark has heard the concerns of cash-strapped taxpayers.

“The devil’s always in the details of these government plans, and we won’t have those until Friday,” said Jordan Bateman, BC Director for the CTF. “But any word that the government has rejected the misguided push to more than quintuple the carbon tax – adding another 25 cents per litre in gas tax – is good news for taxpayers.”

During the climate plan feedback process, the CTF encouraged its supporters to offer their thoughts on the carbon tax. Several hundred people emailed the government with stories of how the carbon tax has made their lives more expensive or their businesses less competitive – and asked that the tax be frozen, or scrapped all together.

“It’s easy for downtown Vancouver elites to demand higher carbon taxes, forgetting that not everyone in BC lives like they do,” said Bateman. “There are millions of British Columbians across this province, scraping to get by, struggling under their tax burden and expensive cost of living. They live in colder climates where not heating their homes isn’t an option. They work jobs where they don’t have taxpayers giving them raises every year and where they need to drive long distances. The carbon tax, as is, has hurt them – and the idea of making them pay more was unfathomable.”

The CTF does have concerns over the media report that government will increase subsidies for electric vehicle buyers. This program was abused by high-end vehicle buyers, with taxpayers subsidizing the purchases of 760 luxury vehicles, each worth at least $87,000. Even the buyer of a Porsche 918 Spyder – worth $1.1 million – got a $5,000 subsidy from taxpayers.

“It shouldn’t be up to taxpayers to sweeten the deal on electric vehicles,” said Bateman. “If you can afford a $1.1 million luxury sports car, you don’t need a $5,000 subsidy from taxpayers.”