-- CTF Unveils Over 50,000 Gas Tax Petitions Destined for Paul Martin's Office --

Gas Tax Facts Sheet

OTTAWA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today unveiled over 50,000 Cut Gas Tax petitions at a news conference on Parliament Hill. The petitions were collected over the past several months by CTF membership representatives and through the CTF web site to show broad, national support for immediate gas tax cuts.

"All indications point to an Economic and Fiscal Update or perhaps even a mini-budget later this month where tax cuts will be in the offing," stated CTF federal director Walter Robinson. "We will deliver these petitions to the Minister's office upstairs later today to clearly show that we believe gas tax cuts should be included in any pre-election tax measures."

Specifically, the CTF proposes that Finance Minister Paul Martin immediately:

Reduce the federal excise tax on fuel from 10 cents/litre to 8.5 cents per litre;

End the practice of double taxation at the pumps by ending the current practice of charging GST on the entire fuel purchase and only charging GST on the applicable product portion of a fuel purchase (excluding federal, provincial and municipal (where applicable) taxes); and

Enter into a dialogue with Provincial Finance Ministers to derive a timetable for further across-the board federal and provincial fuel tax reductions to take effect no later than March 31, 2001. Ideally this should be a national agreement, but in the absence of such broad consensus, bilateral tax agreements should be negotiated.

"While we welcome discussion of potential fuel tax rebates or other targeted measures through the tax system, they are no substitute for the immediate and sustained impact that would result from a direct cut or cuts to the federal excise tax," concluded Robinson.

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For more information please contact:
Walter Robinson or Bruce Winchester at 613-234-6554 or 1-800-265-0442




Gas Tax Facts

• The Federal Government collected over $4.7 billion in gas taxes in fiscal 1998/1999 and returned a paltry 4.1% -- $194 million - back to provincial transfers for road and highway development.
• On average, Canadian motorists are paying between 36% and 45% (depending on the province) in taxes with each gas pump fill-up. For the current fiscal year (2000/2001), the federal and provincial governments will collect over $13 billion in gas taxes from Canadians.
• Minister Martin continues to ignore the advice of his own caucus in refusing to cut gas taxes. In June 1998, a committee of 47 backbench Liberal MPs chaired by Liberal gas crusader Dan McTeague, advocated the reduction of the federal excise tax from 10 cents/litre to 8.5 cents/litre.
• The CTF's comprehensive report on gas taxes entitled Canada's Gas Taxes = Highway Robbery can be found online.