The Canadian Taxpayers Federation wants the B.C. government to provide some tax relief to residents of the B.C. Interior.
The organization is asking the province to cut fuel taxes, change ICBC and remove the Employer Health Tax.
The fuel taxes alone affect Interior communities and businesses which depend on trucking, tourism and shipping.
According to the CTF, eliminating the carbon tax, the excise tax and the GST on fuel would cut fuel prices by more than 25 cents a litre.
With gasoline prices in Summerland past $1.40 a litre, the savings to motorists would be significant.
Likewise, the CTF argues that the ICBC vehicle insurance rates and the new Employer Health Tax will also hurt those living in the B.C. Interior.
Cutting taxes, especially fuel taxes, would bring a noticeable and immediate savings to residents of Interior communities, and such changes would be welcomed by most people here.
And the CTF, by scrutinizing taxes and public spending, plays a role in addressing the costs passed on to the public through taxes.
However, cutting taxes alone is not enough to provide long-term relief at the pumps.
Fuel prices have been rising as a result of numerous factors, and while taxes affect the price per litre, taxes alone are not the sole reason for today’s fuel prices.
Global oil prices, which are the result of supply and demand, are a huge factor in the prices passed on to consumers.
Even if all fuel taxes were to be removed, prices at the pump would continue to fluctuate based on changes to crude oil prices and refinery costs.
Besides, if the fuel taxes are reduced, the tax revenues will need to be made up with increases in other taxes or budgets and government services will need to be reduced.
The CTF’s goal of providing some relief to motorists is an admirable one, but cutting taxes alone is not necessarily the best way to achieve lasting relief from ongoing gas pains.
