- Federal government plans to impose carbon taxes on unwilling provinces
- By 2022, average family could be paying $2,593 in new taxes each year.
OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today slammed Prime Minister Trudeau’s pledge to impose a rising national ‘floor price’ which could result in the average Canadian family paying $2,593 per year in new taxes by 2022.
“Prime Minister Trudeau has disingenuously implied that provinces have a ‘choice’ with respect to carbon pricing,” said CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick. “But there is no choice at all: provinces must impose a new tax on their own people, or Ottawa will do it for them – something the Premiers of Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Yukon have explicitly opposed.”
“From taxpayers’ perspective, what matters is that they are going to be paying more. To which level of government the dollars flow is irrelevant,” added Wudrick. “As for revenue neutrality, Alberta’s government claimed their carbon tax was ‘revenue neutral’ simply because they were spending the proceeds on climate-related projects – while BC’s carbon tax has certainly not been neutral in terms of its impact on individual taxpayers.”
“Canadians should hang onto their wallets,” continued Wudrick. “The federal government has now committed to imposing a wide-ranging tax which will rise over time taking $38 billion out of Canadians’ pockets annually by 2022 – all in pursuit of an emissions target that, even if it is met, will have no substantive impact on global climate change.”
The CTF is Canada’s leading non-partisan citizens’ advocacy group fighting for lower taxes, less waste and accountable government. Founded in 1990, the CTF has more than 89,000 supporters and seven offices across Canada. The CTF is funded by free-will, non tax-receiptable contributions.
For more information:
Federal Director Aaron Wudrick
Cell: 613-295-8409
Office: 613-234-6554
Email: awudrick@taxpayer.com
Twitter: @awudrick