No one loves paying taxes. We do it because we believe the money is going to fund important services like good roads, hospitals and education.

But your tax dollars might not be going to where you may have thought. That’s because the New Brunswick government has cut special deals with aboriginal bands. Those deals call for band-owned businesses to charge non-Status Indians gas tax, tobacco tax and HST but rather than remit it to the provincial government, the band gets to pocket 95 per cent of that tax money.

For example, if you roll up to a gas station on a reserve and fill your vehicle with 50 litres of gas at $1.30 per litre, you’ll pay almost $11.30 in total provincial taxes. But 95 per cent or $10.70 of that money does not help pay to maintain provincial highways. Instead, it stays with the band. The same is true for tobacco taxes.

Years ago when taxes were lower and there were fewer band-owned businesses, this may not have seemed like a big deal since the taxes lost represented just a small amount. This is no longer the case.

Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation through the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act show that in the past four years, uncollected taxes as a result of these special deals has grown to $20.1 million in 2013-14 ($9.55 million in tobacco tax, $6.67 million in gas taxes and $4.34 million in HST) from $9 million in 2009-10 ($5.34 million in tobacco tax, $1.8 million in gas tax and $1.89 million in HST). That means in just four short years, tax losses from these deals has more than doubled. If left unchecked these deals promise to costs us all more and more in lost provincial revenue.

But this is not just about the money, it is also about the principal of equal opportunity for all New Brunswickers.

While the tax deals with aboriginal bands specifically state they cannot use their special tax status to undercut prices on gas and tobacco, groups that follow prices, like the Atlantic Convenience Stores Association say that’s exactly what is happening. The deals are unfair to competing businesses off-reserve. Every business should have the same opportunity, and compete on a level playing field.

Furthermore, surely the cities of Fredericton, Saint John or Moncton would love to have the same deal as aboriginal bands where they automatically pocket 95 per cent of all gas, tobacco and HST within their borders.

Sharing some tobacco tax revenue with aboriginal bands may be a smart strategy to reduce illegal tobacco sales. However, New Brunswick does have a contraband tobacco problem. However letting bands keep 95 per cent of tax revenue is far too generous.

There is no reason why bands should keep any the gas taxes or HST revenue. Aboriginal New Brunswickers are no different than non-aboriginal New Brunswickers. Both drive on the roads the gas tax pays for and use the hospitals and schools the HST helps fund.

The blame for these special tax deals does not lie with the Alward government – they were signed by previous governments, in some cases more than two decades ago. Blaine Higgs, the Finance Minister, deserves credit for his promise to study the impact of these agreements in his 2014 budget.

Now is the time for the government to take action and amend these agreements. Within each of these deals is a clause that allows either party (provincial government or the aboriginal band) to cancel the agreement with 90 days’ notice.

The provincial government should invoke this clause and cancel these agreements for gasoline and HST and bring it to a reasonable level for tobacco taxes.

It is the only fair thing to do.

Kevin Lacey is Atlantic Canada Director with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. You can find more information at taxpayer.com