In an article in the Montreal Gazette today, Peter Hadekel asks the $15.5 billion question: Is Stéphane Dion’s “Green Plan a policy for the environment, or tax reform?”In fact, carbon tax won't even be revenue neutral to the government. While the new tax is expected to raise as much as $15.4 billion, the broad-based tax cuts which are supposed to balance the new tax only amount to $9B. The rest (and that's $6.4 billion or more than 40% of the projected carbon tax revenue) will go towards general revenues and will be used to pay for Dion's costly spending promises.
Mr. Hadekel’s conclusion after analyzing the Green Shift is that “the biggest question hanging over the Green Shift” is that “the plan looks a lot more like a piece of tax reform than an environmental policy guaranteed to cut carbon emissions and combat greenhouse gases.”
He points to the “revenue neutral” aspect of the plan and reminds us that, while it may be revenue neutral to the government, IT WILL NOT BE REVENUE NEUTRAL TO INDIVIDUAL CANADIANS AND BUSINESSES. Everyone will pay more, but only certain groups and sectors will get some money back.
And when it comes to ordinary Canadians - modest tax cuts and rebate checks won't be enough to offset higher prices in the grocery stores. After all - 96% of all diesel emissions come from vehicles involved in the food chain - from farm tractors and fishing boats, to railway and transport truck delivery. To make things worse, Dion is proposing special tariffs on imports from countries that won't join the battle against mythical "global warming". 42% of fresh produce available in Canada is imported. The new tariffs (along with much higher shipping costs) won't make it any cheaper.
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