The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is once again calling on Prime Minster Justin Trudeau’s government to abolish the federal carbon tax..A new Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) report shows the Trudeau government’s carbon tax plan will lead to decreased household income and throttled GDP growth. The report also shows GDP growth will be 1.3% lower in 2030 because of the carbon tax and that labour income will be as much as 2.6% lower..The report provides a broad assessment of the impacts federal carbon pricing will have on Canadians under the Government’s A Healthy Environment and A Healthy Economy (HEHE) plan. Under the HEHE plan, the government’s carbon tax will rise by $15 per year from $50 per tonne in 2022. By 2030, the tax will be $170 per tonne..The PBO report stated Canadians will receive rebates..“The federal government has committed to return the revenue from the carbon levy directly to individuals and families, through Climate Action Incentive payments (rebates). It will also return a portion of proceeds to particularly affected sectors in other jurisdictions that do not meet the federal standard for reducing emissions (that is, Ontario, Manitoba,.Saskatchewan and Alberta),” the report said..CTF Ontario Director Jay Goldberg clarified that a close examination of the report reveals that Canadians will, in fact, be much worse off after paying carbon tax..“The Trudeau government claimed that its carbon tax scheme would benefit families economically, but the new PBO report shows that the government simply wasn’t telling the truth,” said CTF Ontario Director Jay Goldberg. “The report shows that most households will be paying hundreds of dollars more each year in carbon taxes than they’ll get back in rebates..“Under its HEHE climate plan, we estimate that the government will collect $5.9 billion in budgetary revenues in 2021–22, rising to $18.5 billion in 2030–31. A large portion of this revenue will be generated by fuel charge proceeds from Alberta and Ontario. The Government will also collect revenue from GST on its carbon levy. We estimate that $239 million in GST revenue from carbon pricing will be collected in 2021–22, increasing to $837 million in 2030–31 under HEHE carbon pricing,” the report said..“The carbon tax is bad for families, plain and simple,” said Goldberg. “The Trudeau government’s plans will hurt Canadians and hinder economic growth, even though evidence shows carbon taxes don’t lower emissions. It’s clearer than ever before that the federal government needs to scrap its carbon tax.”.Amanda Brown is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.abrown@westernstandardonline.com.,.Twitter: @WS_JournoAmanda
