Today is the day that the carbon tax is rolled out.  There will be an additional 2.34 cents per litre on gasoline and 2.69 cents per litre on diesel.  There are also other charges on other forms of fuel, such as jet fuel, natural gas, and coal.

Gordon Price puts it very well on how the carbon tax will help to reduce the income tax on the lower tax brackets.  Don’t forget that reductions to the 2 lowest tax brackets also benefit people with higher incomes.  There is also an expected reduction in some of the business taxes.  The BC Ministry of Finance has a couple of pages on their website that outline some of the reductions expected.  Obviously, I would like to see some of the bigger industrial polluters taxed as well, so that their behaviour will change.  You can’t just spew waste into the air for free anymore.

The NDP have taken a confusing step of opposing the carbon tax.  On the outset, it sounds great, but without a carbon tax, how will people’s behaviour change.  I have spoken before how the tax should not negatively affect rural communities.  I think those communities are still going to suffer in certain ways from this tax.  However, a 2-3 cent rise in gas prices is less than the daily day-to-night fluctuation of prices at the pump.  So it’s a tiny amount compared to what has happened to oil prices.

The Liberal government could consider trimming the tax down a bit in light of high gas prices that have done a lot to change driving behaviour.  Maybe a 1-2 cent tax.  However, it may not be worth administering and collecting such a tax at that rate.

I’m not a really big supporter of the Liberal government on many fronts, especially Gateway, but this carbon tax seems the most reasonable option to help change behaviour to reduce greenhouse gases.