The latest report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer reaffirmed that Canadian households are paying out more than they receive back in rebates, despite repeated claims from the Liberals to the contrary.
This has led the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the Conservatives to call for the Trudeau government to finally scrap the federal carbon tax now that the report has confirmed using the Liberal’s own data, that it’s making Canadians poorer.
“Our ‘fiscal impact only’ estimates of household net cost include the federal fuel charge paid directly and indirectly, as well as the related Goods and Services Tax (GST) paid, less the Canada Carbon Rebate received,” reads the report.
The CTF said the report noted that yet again “politicians’ favourite talking point is incorrect” and that Canadian households continue to get less in return than they’re forced to spend.
“The average household in each of the backstop provinces will see a net cost, paying more in the federal fuel charge and GST, as well as receiving lower incomes (due to the fuel charge), compared to the Canada Carbon Rebate they receive,” the report continued.
According to Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux, although “Canada’s own emissions are not large enough to materially impact climate change,” Canadians will still have to fork over an additional $399 on average above the amount received in rebates.
That figure does not include the GST that’s tacked on top of the carbon tax, which the PBO report estimates will cost taxpayers $400 million alone this year, a number which falls outside of the rebate altogether.
“It’s simply not credible to believe the government can impose a carbon tax, skim some money off the top, charge its sales tax on top of the carbon tax and then make families better off,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the CTF.
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should take this PBO report as a wake-up call and scrap the carbon tax to make life more affordable.”
The Conservatives released a statement on Thursday claiming that the report confirms what they have been saying for some time, that the carbon tax is “nothing more than an expensive scam.”
“On top of this, the PBO confirmed that the NDP-Liberal tax will cost the average person $652 in Newfoundland and Labrador, $575 in PEI, $580 in Nova Scotia, $457 in New Brunswick, $903 in Ontario, $693 in Manitoba, $894 in Saskatchewan, and $697 in Alberta. Despite what Justin Trudeau says, it is indisputable that the carbon tax makes most Canadians poorer,” reads the Conservative’s statement.
The party went on to say that the NDP-Liberal Government doesn’t care about the effects the carbon tax is having on Canadians, especially when many are feeling the financial squeeze.
The carbon tax was last increased on April 1 by 23%, however, the Liberals have laid out plans to continue hiking the tax through to 2030 until it quadruples the current amount.
The government’s justification foro the carbon tax and its hikes has always been that Canadians are receiving a net benefit from rebates, however, the report contradicts this claim.
“The NDP-Liberal Government can no longer peddle this lie to Canadians,” said the Conservatives. “This corroborates the NDP-Liberal Government’s own data, which they tried to hide from Canadians, showing that the carbon tax will cost the Canadian economy $30.5 billion per year by 2030.”