Mile Marker Zero (Outside Victoria, B.C.): The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today launched its Running on Empty - Fuming to Ottawa cross-country tour to coincide with the federal election. Federal director, John Williamson, and British Columbia director, Sara MacIntyre, kicked off the tour of forty communities - in a campaign decorated van - to build support for lower gasoline taxes and the CTF's Municipal Roadway Trust - a practical model for returning half of federal gas tax revenues directly to municipalities. The CTF plans to make high gas taxes and how politicians spend them an issue in this election campaign.

"We may not be able to affect the world price of oil, but we can affect gas taxes, especially during an election campaign when we have the ears of politicians," said federal director John Williamson. "We want to build momentum for Ottawa to dedicate half of federal gas tax revenues to road construction and maintenance, and for a gasoline tax cut of 5 cents a litre to give consumers a break at the pumps. Where do our political leaders stand on these questions "

The CTF is demanding Ottawa eliminate the 1.5 cent/litre deficit tax as a first step; remove the GST (and HST where applicable) charged on the federal and provincial levies that total 19 to 30 cents per litre of gasoline to net another 1.5 cents in savings; and reduce the federal levy by an additional 2 cents.

Canadian Gas Facts:

- Of the $5.3-billion collected in federal gasoline and diesel taxes in 2003/04, Ottawa returned a paltry 2.5% or $135-million back in provincial transfers for road and highway development. (In addition, Ottawa collected $1.178-billion in gasoline GST revenues.)

- Over the past 12 months - the period of May 2003 to April 2004 - the average cost of a litre of gasoline paid by Canadian motorists was 73.3 cents. Taxes accounted for 42% of the pump price. Gasoline prices have now jumped to an average weekly price of 90 cents/litre. GST is charged on the full pump price, gasoline taxes included. It is a tax on tax. As the pump price increases so too does the GST.

- The federal gasoline tax increased by more than 550% between 1985 and 1995 - from 1.5 to 10 cents/litre. As a deficit reduction measure in 1995, Ottawa increased the gasoline tax from 8.5 to 10 cents/litre. The federal deficit was vanquished six years ago, but the tax remains.

- Liberal leadership candidate Paul Martin pledged to share federal gasoline tax revenues with municipalities, but did not deliver on this policy in the recent budget. Despite this failure, the Prime Minister has indicated he will again campaign on the policy in the 2004 general election.

- In 2002, Canadian municipalities spent $7.8-billion building and maintaining roads yet received none of the federal gasoline tax revenues. More than 80% of all roads in Canada are municipal roads.

"The message to Ottawa from taxpaying motorists is 'use it or lose it,'" concluded Williamson. "Canadians are feed up with excuses from politicians, and they want the party leaders to articulate where they stand on government price gouging at the pumps and specifically what they will do with fuel tax revenues if elected. "

The Running on Empty - Fuming to Ottawa tour will travel through British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario before arriving on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 23.

Along the way, the CTF will continue to raise awareness of the gasoline tax bite, meet with municipal politicians and taxpayers, and invite them to sign the CTF's gas tax petition. The planned route map is posted on the CTF website at: http://www.taxpayer.com/fumingtour.htm.