Canadians paying $1.4 billion each year in gasoline tax-on-tax

OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the federal government to end the practice of applying the HST/GST after provincial and federal excise taxes have already been charged. This practice of “tax-on-tax” was highlighted as part of the CTF’s 19th annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, with press conferences held across the country from Calgary to Montreal.

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"A few cents a litre may not sound like much, but it quickly adds up,” said CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick, “Eliminating this tax-on-tax would save Canadians a total of $1.4 billion each year.” 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. “On average, Canadians are paying 36 per cent of the price at the pump in gas taxes,” said Wudrick, “It’s 44 per cent in Newfoundland. And with new carbon taxes in Alberta and Ontario, it is only getting worse in most provinces.” “Compounding high gas taxes with a sneaky tax-on-tax is not transparent nor fair," said Wudrick, “The government must put an end to this rip-off and provide some long overdue relief at the pump.” 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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