NDP pledges temporary gas-tax cut
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/08/2023 (1017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Manitoba’s New Democrats promised Monday to make life a little more affordable by temporarily cutting the provincial gas tax to save motorists 14 cents a litre at the pump.
NDP Leader Wab Kinew pledged to remove the tax while inflation is high and regulate provincial gas prices in the long term.
Manitoba’s Liberals and the governing Tories scoffed at the plan, and a local economist called it “strange.”
Eliminating the tax for six months would cost the provincial treasury about $165 million. The NDP is promising to keep the tax cut in effect for roughly six to 12 months, but the length of time hasn’t been determined yet, Kinew said at a campaign event in St. Norbert’s Charette Park, across from a Pembina Highway gas bar.
He said the dollar value will be fully costed in the party’s platform, and that it could be covered using existing government contingency funds while bringing “hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in savings” to the average family.
Kinew said he would also task the Public Utilities Board with regulating gas prices in the province, similar to the regulation in some Atlantic provinces. The benchmark for regulation would be set in consultation with the board and economic leaders, he said.
Kinew said he doesn’t believe gas-tax savings would lead to people driving more, or result in carbon-emissions increases as Manitobans would choose the most environmentally friendly option when it’s available.
He hinted at the NDP supporting a Manitoba-specific carbon tax plan, saying, “I will go to Ottawa and I will negotiate and bring home a better deal.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation applauded the NDP promise, saying provincial and federal gas taxes currently account for 29 per cent of the cost of gas. Alberta, Ontario and Newfoundland have reduced their gas taxes as part of provincial relief programs.
The NDP’s plan amounts to populism, runs contrary to combating climate change, and doesn’t make economic sense, said Gregory Mason, associate professor of economics at University of Manitoba.
“It’s a strange proposal.”
» Winnipeg Free Press