April Fools!For all the talk of rebranding the carbon tax to the ‘Canada Carbon Rebate’ there’s at least one group that won’t be getting their fair share of the pie — small- and medium-sized businesses.That’s because the Liberal government last week quietly posted to a federal website that it intends to reduce the amount Ottawa returns to in carbon pricing revenues to $623 million after the the tax increase takes effect on April 1.Last year the amount was almost $935 million, or 35% higher even though the tax was $15 less..“In every policy, we have to make choices,"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.It comes as the government says it is increasing the amount paid out to rural families as part of the three-year carbon carve out for home heating oil.“In every policy, we have to make choices," Prime Minister Trudeau said last October.That's despite the fact the government still owes more than $2.5 billion to businesses in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan from the first five years of the program — and refuses to say when that money will be paid.In a statement, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said the federal government pledged to return 10% of carbon tax revenue back to small businesses, farmers and indigenous people but has returned almost zero since the tax began. On top of that, the carbon tax is increasing to $80 per tonne on April 1. .“Canada’s carbon tax system is a mess and is deeply unfair to Canada’s small businesses who are the second largest payer of the levy after consumers.“Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly.To make matters worse, CFIB estimates small businesses actually pay 40% of the costs of the carbon tax, yet they are only supposed to receive up to 10% of the revenue once Ottawa gets around to figuring out a way to return the dollars as promised. “This is particularly troubling as the tax was expanded to all four Atlantic provinces in July of last year. There is no mechanism in place to return a dime to small businesses paying the federal carbon tax in eight provinces,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly. “No wonder some indigenous organizations are taking the federal government to court.” “While the federal government charges carbon taxes to all small businesses, they plan to rebate only a select few in emissions-intensive and trade-exposed sectors, whatever that means,” Kelly added. .“Canada’s carbon tax system is a mess and is deeply unfair to Canada’s small businesses who are the second largest payer of the levy after consumers. It’s not surprising that a strong majority of small firms are now opposed to the federal carbon tax regime.” Instead, the CFIB is urging the government to freeze the tax at its current level, exempt all heating fuels including natural gas and essentially go back to the drawing board while it sorts out some of the finer details.“With the new year bringing new costs, we’re calling on Ottawa to take some concrete action and do more to help small businesses facing financial hardships. The government can show small firms that it’s listening to them by freezing the carbon tax while fixing the broken carbon backstop system,” said Corinne Pohlmann, executive vice-president of advocacy at CFIB.
April Fools!For all the talk of rebranding the carbon tax to the ‘Canada Carbon Rebate’ there’s at least one group that won’t be getting their fair share of the pie — small- and medium-sized businesses.That’s because the Liberal government last week quietly posted to a federal website that it intends to reduce the amount Ottawa returns to in carbon pricing revenues to $623 million after the the tax increase takes effect on April 1.Last year the amount was almost $935 million, or 35% higher even though the tax was $15 less..“In every policy, we have to make choices,"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.It comes as the government says it is increasing the amount paid out to rural families as part of the three-year carbon carve out for home heating oil.“In every policy, we have to make choices," Prime Minister Trudeau said last October.That's despite the fact the government still owes more than $2.5 billion to businesses in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan from the first five years of the program — and refuses to say when that money will be paid.In a statement, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said the federal government pledged to return 10% of carbon tax revenue back to small businesses, farmers and indigenous people but has returned almost zero since the tax began. On top of that, the carbon tax is increasing to $80 per tonne on April 1. .“Canada’s carbon tax system is a mess and is deeply unfair to Canada’s small businesses who are the second largest payer of the levy after consumers.“Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly.To make matters worse, CFIB estimates small businesses actually pay 40% of the costs of the carbon tax, yet they are only supposed to receive up to 10% of the revenue once Ottawa gets around to figuring out a way to return the dollars as promised. “This is particularly troubling as the tax was expanded to all four Atlantic provinces in July of last year. There is no mechanism in place to return a dime to small businesses paying the federal carbon tax in eight provinces,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly. “No wonder some indigenous organizations are taking the federal government to court.” “While the federal government charges carbon taxes to all small businesses, they plan to rebate only a select few in emissions-intensive and trade-exposed sectors, whatever that means,” Kelly added. .“Canada’s carbon tax system is a mess and is deeply unfair to Canada’s small businesses who are the second largest payer of the levy after consumers. It’s not surprising that a strong majority of small firms are now opposed to the federal carbon tax regime.” Instead, the CFIB is urging the government to freeze the tax at its current level, exempt all heating fuels including natural gas and essentially go back to the drawing board while it sorts out some of the finer details.“With the new year bringing new costs, we’re calling on Ottawa to take some concrete action and do more to help small businesses facing financial hardships. The government can show small firms that it’s listening to them by freezing the carbon tax while fixing the broken carbon backstop system,” said Corinne Pohlmann, executive vice-president of advocacy at CFIB.
