VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released its 27th annual Gas Tax Honesty Report, showing that some drivers in B.C. pay the highest fuel taxes in the country. Fuel costs in B.C. are driven up by a hidden carbon tax that is still applied to fuel companies. 

“Many B.C. drivers are paying five different taxes on a litre of gasoline,” said Carson Binda, CTF B.C. Director. “The federal and provincial governments must make life more affordable by cutting gas taxes.”

Drivers in Metro Vancouver pay the highest gas taxes in Canada. They pay 63 cents in municipal, federal and provincial taxes per litre of gasoline. Drivers in Victoria pay 56 cents per litre, while those in other regions of B.C. pay 49 cents per litre. 

“Premier David Eby made the right decision to cancel the consumer carbon tax, but he’s still imposing a backend carbon tax hidden in fuel regulations that costs B.C. drivers an average of 18 cents per litre of gasoline,” Binda said. “Drivers in the Lower Mainland and Victoria pay more taxes on gas and diesel because of regional transit taxes.” 

Metro Vancouver’s TransLink tax makes a litre of gasoline 18.5 cents more expensive than in the rest of the province. The government charges Capital Regional District drivers a similar transit tax, which adds 5.5 cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline.

Drivers in Metro Vancouver pay $40.07 in taxes on a 64-litre fill up of gasoline. That same fill up costs drivers in Victoria $35.65 in taxes and $31.55 in the rest of the province. 

Taxes increase the cost of diesel fuel by 58 cents per litre in Metro Vancouver, 51 cents in Victoria and 44 cents in the rest of the province.