Mayor Farkas said that given that the province increased provincial property taxes by roughly $350 per homeowner, a reduction to the province\u2019s fuel tax would amount to a roughly $300 annual savings.<\/p>\n
Fuel prices have spiked following the conflict in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has choked off the supply of world oil through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Gas prices in Calgary over the past few weeks of the conflict have risen as high as $1.78 \/ litre of fuel, only recently receding from highs, falling to about $1.66 \/litre. Alberta\u2019s portion of the fuel tax is 13 cents per litre.<\/a> The fuel rates are adjusted quarterly, and are to be fully suspended based on the price of oil being above $90\/bbl. <\/p>\n The federal fuel excise tax, suspended by PM Mark Carney on Tuesday, is 10 cents per litre. The federal government expects that its decision will save citizens $2.4 billion in fuel costs.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re building a stronger, more resilient, and more independent Canadian economy,\u201d read a statement from PM Carney. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs we build, we\u2019re cutting your taxes, reducing the costs of your homes, and providing you relief at the pump. We cannot control what other nations do. We\u2019re focused on what we can control \u2013 building Canada strong for all.\u201d<\/p>\n Premier Smith is reluctant to cut the fuel tax in the wake of the Alberta budget deficit<\/p>\n Back at the end of March, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith responded to a caller on her weekend Corus radio program, Your Province, Your Premier, saying that Albertans shouldn\u2019t expect any changes to the province\u2019s fuel tax program.<\/p>\n At the time, Premier Smith said that the high prices had only been around for three weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe amount that we can do to mitigate on the cost of fuel is 13 cents a litre. So, if you have a 55-litre tank, the most we can help you on a fill up is $7.15 if we went down to zero,\u201d she said on the program.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, that\u2019s why I just want to manage some expectations, is that, yeah, we could take that off, but you\u2019ll still be facing the high prices at the pump, because the world prices are just out of our control.\u201d<\/p>\n Premier Smith said there are other ways they could look at providing affordability relief for Albertans, on top of personal income tax cuts and work to bring down electricity prices.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make sure\u2026 that we\u2019re doing something that\u2019s going to be meaningful, and that we\u2019re not acting in a way that\u2019s premature before dollars come in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still have a significant deficit from last year, the long-term price of oil is expected to average at 61\u2026 \u00a0I don\u2019t know how quickly this, this conflict is going to end.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the Alberta NDP also chimed in on a fuel tax cut.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the cost of gas skyrocketing recently,\u00a0Albertans feel every cent when they fill up,\u201d said Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi, in a prepared statement.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, families\u00a0and business owners\u00a0are\u00a0doing the math at the pump and wondering what\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0going to cut next. Dropping the provincial gas tax is one clear, practical way the government can help today.\u201d<\/p>\n Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner told reporters on Tuesday that you can\u2019t count your chickens before they hatch, and they\u2019re only two weeks into this fiscal year. Previously, the finance minister\u2019s office told LWC that any oil price gains would be applied to last year\u2019s deficit<\/a>. <\/p>\n Horner said that the current program they have in place was a legislated process, and that if oil prices continue to stay high for the quarter, it could trigger the fuel tax rebate. <\/p>\n \u201cI think more flexibility, in this case, it may make sense for politicians to make quick, ad-hoc decisions, but it takes away the defensibility of the program,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cYou build the case in the preceding quarter, and then the tax is dealt with in the quarter that follows. And if it comes off, it stays off for the entire quarter, and it all can\u2019t come back on at the same time. So that\u2019s the part of the business case with which we designed the protocol.\u201d<\/p>\n Liked it? Take a second to support Darren Krause on Patreon!<\/p>\n
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