Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to scrap an impending second carbon tax following a report that it will cost Albertan households up to $1,157 per year in 2030.
“Canadians are already struggling to afford gasoline and groceries and the last thing we need is another carbon tax that makes life more expensive,” said Franco Terrazzano, Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) federal director.
The second carbon tax is embedded within federal clean fuel regulations set to take effect on July 1. Regulations require producers to reduce their fuel carbon content. If they canʼt meet those requirements, theyʼll have to pay the second carbon tax on top of the current carbon tax. There are no rebates with the second carbon tax.
A Parliamentary Budget Officer report released on Thursday estimates the second carbon tax will cost the average household between $384 and $1,157 in 2030 depending on the province.
“The PBO is clear: the second carbon tax will cost families hundreds and even thousands of dollars.”
The second carbon tax will increase the price of gasoline by up to 17 cents per litre in 2030, says the ATF.
By 2030, Albertan households would be hit the hardest, paying $1,157, the highest bill in the country followed by Saskatchewan at $1,117. B.C. would pay the least at $384, followed by Quebec at $436 and Ontario at $495.
It calls the tax “regressive for households” because “lower income households generally spend a larger share of their income on transportation and other energy-intensive goods and services compared to higher income households.”
Meanwhile, Albertans have some of the lowest fuel costs in Canada since the province suspended its 13-cent-per-litre fuel tax, which saves about $15 on a pickup fill-up. Federal taxes add 32 cents to the cost of every litre or about $37 towards the cost of filling up a full-size pickup gas tank.
In B.C., federal and provincial taxes add up to 76 cents per litre, adding $89 to the price of a pickup fill-up. Saskatchewan drivers also pay provincial and federal gas taxes, but they amount to 47 cents per litre or $55 per fill.