PBO report clearly shows Trudeau's carbon tax costs you more
No, you don't get more in rebates than what the carbon tax costs you.
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Oct 10, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax will cost most Canadians more, it will lower your income and it will shrink our economy.
Those are the conclusions of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), an independent officer of Parliament, after looking at the fiscal and total economic impact of the carbon tax.
The PBO found that by 2030, those in the bottom 40% of income earners will see a net benefit from the carbon tax and the government’s rebate programs – but everyone else will pay more.
In Ontario, the estimate is between paying an extra $588 a year and $3,467. For Alberta, the range was $130 to $3,122. And in Manitoba, it’s between $218 and $3,295.
Ever since the Trudeau government announced their carbon tax plan, they have claimed that eight out of 10 families will get back more in rebates than they pay in tax. While the PBO finds that generally accurate when just looking at the direct tax paid versus the rebates, the total economic impact is negative.
This is the second report by the PBO to find this.
The office previously issued a report in March 2023 showing a similar problem, that most were paying more. Earlier this year, the PBO said there was an error in the report and they would be correcting it.
The Trudeau Liberals had never really acknowledged the report showing most paid more than they received in rebates. They just kept repeating the line that eight out of 10 got more in rebates than they paid in “carbon pricing,” even refusing to acknowledge it was a tax.
“When the economic impact of the federal fuel charge is combined with the fiscal impact, the net cost increases for the average household across all income quintiles, reflecting the overall negative economic impact of the fuel charge,” the PBO’s revised report states.
“In 2030-31, taking into consideration both fiscal and economic impacts, we estimate that 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.”
Not to sound like Chandler from Friends but, “Could they be any clearer?”
Trudeau’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault tried to skate past the report’s clear findings several times. In both statements to social media and in a brief interaction with the media, Guilbeault claimed it was clear most people were better off due to the carbon tax.
That is clearly not what the report said.
“Now’s the time to clear the air on Pierre Poilievre’s big lie to Canadians,” Guilbeault said to reporters before Question Period on Thursday.
“He’s been misleading Canadians, the PBO is very clear. More Canadians get money back from the Canada Carbon Rebate than what they pay.”
That’s not what the PBO said, and once again the Liberals are lying to the public and will be aided and abetted by a media that won’t tell the full truth. This tax is clearly costing more for the average family than they will get back in rebates.
Even the way the rebates are calculated should give people pause for concern.
Whether it is the cost to heat your home or fill your gas tank, everything is calculated on StatsCan averages. That means the rebate is calculated on the average Canadian driving 15,000 km per year or less.
As an urban dweller, I drive less than that, but any suburban family raising kids is driving much more than that and they don’t get a bigger rebate.
“That’s why we need a carbon tax election where Canadians can choose between a 61 cents a litre carbon tax or axing the carbon tax altogether,” Poilievre said Thursday.
The PBO report shows the Liberals are lying to you, they want to claim it shows Poilievre is the one fudging the truth. On this file, as with many, Trudeau and his gang can’t be trusted.
blilley@postmedia.com
pbo-dpb.ca
Report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer shows the claim by the Trudeau Liberals that most get more money back is a lie.
torontosun.com