Filing up for the long weekend? Well, in Alberta 50 per cent of what you are charged is going straight into the hands of the federal or provincial taxman..For most of B.C. it’s 43 per cent, Saskatchewan 51 per cent and Manitoba 46 per cent..In Vancouver and Victoria, which are paying the highest gasoline prices in the country, it’s at 52%.Those are the figures from the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation annual Gas Tax Honesty Day on Thursday..The survey showed Victoria has the highest gas prices in the country at $1.00 per litre (April 2020 average), 44 cents of that is tax. Vancouver has the second highest pump prices at $0.97 per litre. The.rest of British Columbia comes in third..“Year-over-year, while gas prices have gone down drastically, down nearly 50 per cent in some jurisdictions, tax bills have remained largely the same. This is explained by the fact most.taxes on gasoline are calculated based on volume sold, and not on commodity prices,” said the CTF report..“The only taxes on gasoline which are calculated based on its price are sales taxes such as the.GST, HST, PST and QST. This explains the fact the lion’s share of pump prices in most jurisdictions is currently going to one level of government or another in the form of tax revenue..The CTF looked at how much drivers paid in taxes for an average 64 litre fill-up..In most of B.C. it was $24 in tax, Vancouver was $32.32, Victoria $27.97, Alberta $20.91, Saskatchewan $22.37 and Manitoba $20.30..The CTF said Gas Tax Honesty Day is meant to highlight the hidden taxes Canadians pay every time they fill-up..The CTF also urged the feds to rescind the carbon tax increase that went into effect April 1 adding 6.6 cents to a litre of gas. The carbon tax went from from $20 per tonne to $30 per tonne..“The federal government hammered Canadians with a carbon tax hike during a health and economic crisis while our international peers are freezing or reducing their carbon tax burdens,” said Aaron Wudrick, Federal Director for the CTF..“Canadian families and businesses need relief now and the federal government should follow international leaders and reverse its carbon tax hike..“While the government of Canada is increasing the federal carbon tax by 50 per cent, most countries don’t collect carbon taxes at all.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter: @Nobby7694
