Fraser Valley/Vancouver (Kris Sims – Canadian Taxpayers Federation) – The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is urging drivers who are angry about the high cost of gasoline at the pumps to contact their local politicians and say so.
Prices at the pump are nearing $1.70 per litre in Metro Vancouver and Victoria and they’re also nearing historical highs in other parts of the province. (Now $1.52.9 in the Valley)
“If drivers are fuming at the cost of gasoline, they should know that about 68 cents of that pump price is taxes in Metro Vancouver,” said Kris Sims, B.C. Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Premier John Horgan, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole all want high taxes on fuel, and it’s just going to get worse if we don’t tell them to stop.”
Drivers in the Vancouver area pay the highest gasoline taxes in North America. A report by the Taxpayers Federation shows the taxes are a combination of carbon, transit, excise and sales taxes.
- Vancouver pays about 68 cents per litre in taxes.
- Victoria pays about 61 cents per litre in taxes.
- The rest of B.C. pays about 54 cents per litre in taxes.
The first carbon tax in B.C. costs 10 cents per litre of gasoline. The second carbon tax is a requirement tucked into fuel regulations that costs another 14 cents a litre on average.
Combined, B.C.’s two carbon taxes cost about 24 cents per litre of gasoline.
“It costs $18 extra to fill-up a family minivan in British Columbia because of these carbon taxes,” said Sims. “If people are fed up with paying these expensive and useless carbon taxes, they need to tell politicians, or it’s just going to get more expensive for everyday people.”
The Trudeau government is increasing the first carbon tax to 38 cents per litre within the next nine years while O’Toole is promising a combined carbon tax of about 25 cents per litre across Canada if he gets elected.
Emissions in B.C. continue to go up despite having the highest carbon taxes in Canada. Government documents reported to the United Nations show emissions in B.C. have gone up 11 per cent in the past four years. Nearly $2 billion is taken from B.C. taxpayers via the first carbon tax every year, with the money going into general revenue.
