Local News
Taxpayers Federation calling on gov’t for gas tax reduction
By CAROLINE ZENTNER
May 15, 2008, 04:52

Ah, summer. If thoughts of travel stir in the mind, the price of filling up at the pumps might be enough to kill any enthusiasm for a stretch of open road.
Would a reduction of five cents a litre stoke the wanderlust?
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) called on Ottawa to provide that reduction by shaving its share of gas taxes by five cents Wednesday as it launched its 10th annual Gas Tax Honesty Campaign. The campaign’s purpose is to remind motorists of the tax they pay every time they fill up their tanks and to pressure the government to use the money for roads and highways or cut it out altogether.
Scott Hennig, CTF spokesman, said the federal government collected $5 billion in gasoline and diesel taxes, not including GST, in the 2007-08 fiscal year. Of that amount, $1.95 billion will go to road and highway maintenance, flowing to municipalities through the gasoline tax transfer. Next year, spending will increase to 52 per cent from 37 per cent. In 2002, the CTF pushed for 50 per cent of gas and diesel tax revenue to go to roads and highways.
“We’re getting halfway to the goal,” Hennig said.
To reach the goal, the CTF argues the other half of gas and diesel tax revenue should go back to motorists as a tax break.
With gas prices creeping up and up and the possibility of a carbon tax being added, more people may be ready to pressure Ottawa to do just that.
“I think people are getting more and more concerned,” Hennig said. “We certainly know there is a significant level of support out there.”
Over the last year, the average price of gasoline rang in at $1.12 a litre. Gas taxes accounted for an average of 22 per cent for Alberta motorists.
The province collects nine cents a litre while the federal government collects 10 cents a litre. GST is charged on the total after taxes are tacked on. The province puts the money back into highways so the CTF points its finger to Ottawa to cut five cents from its take.
“It would mean $200 to $300 per family per year in savings,” Hennig said.
Hennig said he believes the chances of the plan being adopted by the federal government may be small but they do exist.
“We have a leader in place that understands the issue but unfortunately isn’t willing to do anything about it right now,” he said.
Before the Conservatives were elected, they promised to remove the tax on tax and remove the GST from gasoline when the price went over 85 cents a litre. While they’ve failed to lower gas taxes, they have increased roadway spending.
A recent news story suggested most Canadians support the idea of a carbon tax. The conclusion came from a poll that asked people if they supported a carbon tax on businesses and people based on the carbon emissions they generate.
“It depends on how you ask the question,” Hennig said.
He suspects the poll would have shown different results if people had been asked if they wanted to pay 10 cents a litre more for gas.
While a 10-cent-a-litre increase might cause some people to put their cars in the garage, buses wouldn’t stop running and trucks wouldn’t stop carrying produce from farm to grocery store. The price of gas may have doubled in the last decade but the amount of fuel purchased each year continues to go up.
“People don’t have a whole lot of choice and neither do a lot of companies and grocery stores,” he said. “It’s not like we live in an area of the world where we can have mass transit. We rely a lot more on our vehicles because we’re so spread out here in Canada.”
Anyone steamed enough to want their voice to be heard can sign the CTF’s online petition at www.taxpayer.com.

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