OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to end its tax-on-tax following today’s Parliamentary Budget Officer Report showing removing the GST paid on the carbon tax would save taxpayers hundreds of millions every year. 

“The PBO is clear: the GST on the carbon tax will cost Canadians half-a-billion this year and more than $1 billion every year by 2030,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers are having a retreat in Montreal trying to figure out how to make life more affordable. Here’s an idea: they could save Canadians real money right now by picking up the PBO report and ending their tax-on-tax.”

The federal government applies its sales tax after all the per-litre taxes are added. This is known as tax-on-tax. 

The PBO estimates removing the GST paid on the carbon tax would save taxpayers $486 million this year and more than $1 billion annually by 2030. 

The carbon tax costs the average family up to $710 this year even after the rebates, according to a separate PBO report. 

The federal government plans to increase its carbon tax on Apr. 1 to 17 cents per litre of gasoline, 21 cents per litre of diesel and 15 cents per cubic metre of natural gas. 

“Ending the tax-on-tax would save Canadians every time they fuel up to go to work and heat their homes during the cold winter months,” Terrazzano said. “Trudeau can and should make life more affordable by ending the tax-on-tax and scrapping his carbon tax.”