Politician-led accusations of gasoline price gouging hide the identity of the true gougers. Motorists are being gouged -- no doubt about it -- but by the very politicians who often like to point fingers. About 30% of the pump price of gas is tax, and with gas prices over $1 per litre, it's time for politicians of all stripes to stop hiding behind the call for greater regulation of industry, reduce the tax take on gasoline and invest what they do collect into our roads and transportation infrastructure.

The federal government charges 10 cents per litre. But 1.5 cents of that charge is a "deficit reduction surtax" first imposed back in 1995. The deficit is over, and so too should the deficit reduction tax.

The real crime, however, is the little known tax-on-tax scam. The federal government applies GST not only to the price of fuel, but also to the gas taxes! Couple that with ever increasing fuel prices and for every 10 cents per litre increase in the price of gasoline, the federal government rakes in an additional $150 million.

Last year the feds alone took a total $7-billion in fuel taxes ($1.8-billion from GST). The province took in another $900 million. And, dear motorist, you'll be happy to know that Greater Vancouver and Victoria are two of only three cities in Canada that tack on an additional local levy.

Most BC motorists pay a provincial tax of 14.5 cents per litre but motorists in Victoria pay 17 cents per litre and Vancouver motorists pay 20.5 cents per litre. Why the difference across the province All BC motorists pay 6.75 cents to the BC Transportation Financing Authority (BCTFA) and, with the exception of Vancouver, 7.75 cents to general revenue. In Victoria, motorists pay an additional 2.5 cents per litre to BC Transit, but Vancouverites pay 12 cents per litre to Translink. (Vancouver motorists send 1.75 cents to general revenue.)

While some BCTFA and Translink spending goes to roads, in 2006, the BCTFA spent $8 million on inland ferry service and gave $65 million to the Canada Line (the new Vancouver to Richmond rapid transit line). The BCTFA has an obligation to provide future grants of almost $600 million to the Canada Line. Motorists all over BC are subsidizing ferry service and Olympic-spending-inflated public transit in Vancouver.

But don't expect to hear a word about this spending and the high gas taxes that go along with it from our politicians. The NDP Opposition's solution to high pump prices is government regulation, a practice already in place in five other Canadian provinces. And guess what It doesn't make any difference. On May 22, Vancouver's average gas price was $123.9 per litre. In the regulated province of Newfoundland, St. Johns' gas price was $119.5 per litre. Take away the local Vancouver levy and you get $111.9 cents per litre in Vancouver, lower than the price in regulated Newfoundland. No retailer can sell below cost and government's aren't exactly rushing to lower the tax take; so what exactly is the point of 'regulating prices' other than to create more government bureaucracy

Prices are high; to be sure. But governments can do their part to ease the pain by removing fictional 'deficit elimination' taxes and not taxing taxes. The remainder should be invested into transportation infrastructure. On this point governments are moving in the right direction. The province - despite questionable ferry and rapid transit expenditures - still invest more in roads than they collect in fuel taxes. The feds, meanwhile, only spend 36% of taxes they collect on roads and infrastructure, but that is up from 7% just three years ago. Now, if we can just get the arrows pointing in the right direction on taxes as well.