GST on Carbon Tax to cost Canadians $486M this year

A recent report from the Parliamentary budget officer has made it clear how much the GST on the Carbon Tax is costing Canadians.

This year alone, the GST on Canada’s Carbon Tax will cost taxpayers $486 million. Over the next eight years, the number reaches $6 billion.

“So a total of $6.23 billion, Canadian taxpayers will pay in GST on the carbon tax alone,” said Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MP Alex Ruff.

M.P Ruff tabled a private member’s bill to remove the GST from the Carbon Tax last October. He knows it is very unlikely to make it through Parliament, but he believes the most recent report from the Parliamentary budget officer makes it clear what the Carbon Tax is.

“The Carbon Tax is a tax plan, not an environmental plan. The government has yet to meet an emissions target, so why are we punishing Canadian taxpayers with a tax on a tax?” he said.

The Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault said the carbon tax is working, slowly, but it is working.

“For the first time ever, Canada is on track to surpass our climate targets for 2026. We have the best emissions record of G7 countries over the past two years. The reality is we can fight climate change and pursue measures that make life more affordable at the same time,” he said.

Despite claims rebates to Canadians mean more people save money through the carbon tax than it costs them, Ruff can’t wait to “axe the tax” if the conservatives form government after the next election.

“It’s not revenue neutral. You’re not getting the money back, and the whole purpose, if you go the Environment Canada website, it states the purpose of the Carbon Tax is to change people’s behaviour by making things more expensive so that we do something different,” said Ruff.

“Let’s remember why we have this system. Putting a price on pollution is the cheapest way to reduce pollution causing climate change. Without Canada’s revenue neutral carbon pricing system, the cost to taxpayers and the Canadian economy to achieve our climate goals would be far greater,” said Guilbeault.