REGINA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on municipalities to abandon proposals to levy a $25 tax on all motor vehicles in Saskatchewan, and an additional two cent per litre fuel tax.

The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) recently proposed two methods of collecting more tax dollars to help address municipal budget shortfalls. One option is a $25 dollar tax on all Saskatchewan vehicle registrations. The other proposal is a municipal gasoline tax, said to be in the range of two cents per liter.

"The bottom line is taxpayers are getting soaked at the pumps by federal and provincial governments, by municipalities in the form of property taxes, and by school districts in enormous school taxes," said Saskatchewan director David MacLean. "Taxpayers simply can't afford another tax grab of any kind."

"A $25 dollar tax on vehicle registrations would be a slap in the face of every driver who pays 15 cents a liter to the province for roads," said MacLean. "It's time the municipalities either look within their own budgets to find new efficiencies, or point their guns toward the federal and provincial governments for a dedicated portion of gas tax revenues."

As part of their 4th Annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, the CTF proposed a Municipal Roadway Trust that would send half of gas tax revenue back to municipalities for roads and infrastructure. Under this proposal, Saskatchewan municipalities would receive more than $92 million per year - significantly more than the SUMA proposals would net.

"Municipalities are grievously under-funded and stretched razor thin," said MacLean. "The provincial government and Ottawa must be held accountable for leaving our municipalities to twist in the wind. We need a new funding formula before our towns and cities hit the wall."

"The CTF will join with municipalities to fight for their fair share of tax revenues," said MacLean. "But city politicians are in for the fight of their lives if they continue to pursue new taxes."