VICTORIA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today launched the second annual Gas Tax Honesty Day campaign which includes a national petition and the release of a study documenting the impact of fuel taxes on high pump prices and on the condition of Canada's roads.

"Gas taxes continue to keep pump prices artificially high," said Mark Milke, CTF-BC director. "And as anyone who has recently driven on the TransCanada might suspect, only four percent of Ottawa's $5 billion in gas tax revenue is put back into concrete."

The CTF study provides an historical overview of gas taxes collected by the federal and provincial governments and recommends:

A reduction of federal and provincial fuel tax rates to levels commensurate with highway funding;

Dedication of fuel tax revenues to road renewal;

Elimination of the HST and GST charges on the tax component of the pump price;

Encourage service stations to post pre-tax and post-tax prices on appropriate exterior signs.

Milke noted that in Vancouver, 45% of the cost of a fill-up is tax, down only slightly from the average 50% cost over the past year. The study also notes that while BC spent more on transportation than it collected in gas taxes and fees this past budget year, the one-time jump in expenditures was due largely to government forgiveness of BC Ferry Corporation debt.

The study also reserves criticism for the oil industry's virtual silence on the tax issue. "Big Oil's complacency with gas tax rates in not explaining the price structure of its product allows politicians to perpetuate the suspicion of a price fixing conspiracy, even though study after study has shown otherwise," added Milke.

"The resentment against high gas prices is understandable but often misplaced. Neither government nor Big Oil has come clean on the biggest culprit of unaffordable pump prices - namely gas taxes," concluded Milke.