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Hidden taxes driving up gas prices: CTF report

Federal GST is calculated after all the per-litre taxes are added; an extra 1.8 cents per litre of gasoline the report says.
At the gas pump
Canadian Taxpayers Federation report indicated taxes cost 44 cents per litre of gasoline.

REGINA — The Canadian Taxpayers Federation 24th annual Gas Tax Honesty Report reveals hidden taxes Saskatchewan drivers pay every time they fuel up, according to the organization. 

The CTF’s 2022 Gas Tax Honesty Report shows that taxes make up 26 per cent of the pump price in Saskatchewan. That means taxes cost 44 cents per litre of gasoline, according to the report. In Saskatchewan, drivers pay four different types of taxes every time they fuel up. 

The federal government calculates its sales tax after all the per-litre taxes are added. This tax-on-tax costs drivers an extra 1.8 cents per litre of gasoline.

The federal carbon tax has increased three times during the pandemic and currently costs about 11.1 cents per litre of gasoline, the CTF points out.

According to the CTF release, "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will continue to increase the carbon tax until it reaches 37.6 cents per litre of gasoline in 2030. Trudeau also announced plans to impose a second carbon tax through fuel regulations that could add an extra 11 cents per litre by 2030. That would push the total tax bill to 83.5 cents per litre in 2030. The tax paid on a 64-litre fill-up will be about $53.42 by the end of the decade."

“Taxes already cost Canadians big time at the pumps and Trudeau’s two carbon taxes could soak drivers for nearly 50 cents per litre by 2030,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the CTF.

“It’s extremely tone deaf for Trudeau to keep raising the carbon tax when Canadians can barely afford to fuel up their cars now.”

The CTF’s Gas Tax Honesty Report can be found here.