EDMONTON — Albertans are on pace to see relief at the fuel pumps throughout the summer, with oil prices sitting above the threshold for the UCP to lift their provincial fuel tax on July 1 as the deadline approaches. "We do have a legislative program that, I'm hoping by this point, Albertans are starting to understand," said Alberta's former Finance Minister, Nate Horner, on April 14, amidst calls for the UCP to list Alberta's 13 cents per litre fuel tax in light of a global oil surge caused by the U.S.-Iran conflict. "If oil stayed elevated at the level it is today, they expect the tax can come off fully on July 1." Premier Danielle Smith’s government may soon be forced to follow through on their word and give Albertans a sans-fuel-tax summer spanning from July 1 to Sept. 31. .Alberta's fuel tax relief program is based on a calculation made at the end of each fiscal quarter, in which the average West Texas Intermediate per-barrel oil price is compiled using the 20 trading days leading up to the 16 day of the final calendar month of the prior quarter. For example, the decision on whether to grant Albertans partial or full fuel tax relief on July 1 will be based on the average WTI price from May 18 to June 15. The program runs through an entire fiscal quarter, and the tiered relief begins with a full levy suspension if the average is more than $90 per barrel, and decreases the levy to 4.5 cents per litre if the average is between $89.99 and $85, or to 9 cents per litre if the average is between $84.99 and $80.With three trading days remaining before in the review window, the average WTI price since sits at $94.36, and the price per barrel would need to average less than $65.32 over the remaining days to fall below the full suspension threshold. .Alberta's recently appointed Finance Minister, Jason Nixon, is already facing pressure to lift the tax 20 days early, including calls from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation eight days after he filled Horner's vacancy. "Nixon has a chance to start things off right with taxpayers, and saving them about $15 every time they fill up at the gas pump would be a great first step,” said Kris Sims, the CTF’s Alberta director.“Albertans are paying high fuel costs while fighting to afford everything else, and it would be wrong to make them wait another month for tax relief at the pumps.”The UCP decision not to scrap the tax in April was heavily scrutinized as oil prices spiked above $120 per barrel, and pressure mounted when the federal government lifted their 10-cent-per-litre gas and 4-cent-per-litre diesel levy. "Our program is defensive, so I would start there," Horner said on April 14 when asked if Ottawa's relief put any pressure on the UCP to do the same. "I said, thank you to the feds; I'm grateful.""As an Albertan, I think if we're going to give them their flowers over this, you should also give us some for the fact that we don't have a sales tax. They still have a GST on fuel. There's more they can do. If our program reaches that threshold, the entirety of the tax is lifted." .The Finance Minister may have changed, but the Ministry's position remains the same under Nixon as it was under Horner."Alberta’s taxes on fuel are the second lowest in Canada at 13 cents per litre," reads a statement to the Western Standard from the Finance Ministry's press secretary, Juliana Rodriguez."Alberta's government understands that when costs go up at the pumps, Albertans can feel that pressure on their wallets. That’s why when fuel prices are consistently high, we ensure Albertans can get real relief.""The current review period for the quarter beginning on July 1 runs from May 18 to June 15, and we look forward to sharing more information in the coming weeks.”Smith said in April that the UCP were not going to lift the tax then because Alberta was operating under a deficit caused by prior low prices, and she did not want to overcorrect on something as volatile as the oil market. "So, I'm more of the view that, 'let's realize surpluses before we spend them,’ rather than, ‘Let's hope that we have them’ and then end up putting yourself in a worse situation,'" Smith said. "So, we'll monitor it to see if there are other things that we can do to address some of the affordability issues that people have."
