A "revenue neutral" tax hike.

The amendment which the opposition parties voted into the Clean Air Act proposes a $20 per tonne carbon tax, to be increased to $30 per tonne in 2011. The Green party platform announced today calls for $50 per tonne carbon tax, to be increased to $100 by 2020. They claim the tax will be "revenue-neutral", that the revenue from the carbon tax will be used to reduce other taxes, thus offsetting the increase in gas prices and making "carbon-neutral" lifestyles more rewarding. But here's the catch - the proposed carbon tax will have much more negative effects on the economy than just driving the price of gas up by 12 cents a litre.

One doesn't have to drive a car to be affected by carbon taxes. Utility prices will go up, thus families will have to pay more to keep their houses warm. It will cost more to travel; many families will have to give up their vacation plans simply because they couldn't afford the plane tickets. Even dining out will become more expensive, since restaurants too will be hit by higher utility bills and shipping surcharges.

The carbon tax will affect Canadian industries, making production and shipping more expensive. Prices will increase as the businesses will have to pass extra costs to the consumers. The manufacturers already lose ground on the world markets because of the high loonie. Add the carbon tax on top of that and the lion share of them will be driven out of business. The "dot-com bubble burst" layoffs of 2000-2002 will look like nothing. David Suzuki, who wants lower standard of living (for us but not for himself!), will have his dream come true.

So what kind of tax revenues could the Green party government count on? When hundreds of thousands lose their jobs while others, overworked and underpaid, struggle to make ends meet; when sales are down and exports fall to absolute zero; when the standard of living plunges to the levels not seen since the Great Depression, where will the Green party government get the money for the income tax cuts? If anything, the taxes will have to be increased and even that won't be enough to maintain the publicly funded services like healthcare and education as we have them now.

It often happens that once in power, a political party can not afford the tax cuts it promised during the campaign. We've seen the Liberals in Ontario and New Brunswick raising taxes despite their campaign promises not to do so. The Green party campaigns for new taxes. Ladies and gentlemen, watch your pockets!