The end to the Manitoba government’s 14 cents-per-litre gas tax cut is looming and that’s not good news for taxpayers.
About a year ago, then future-premier Wab Kinew announced that if he was elected, he would cut the province’s fuel tax for at least six months. He followed through on that promise Jan. 1 and drivers started saving money.
In April, Kinew extended his gas tax cut for an additional three months. That cut is slated to expire at the end of September. The premier hasn’t confirmed if gas prices are going to jump 14 cents per litre on Oct. 1.
Read Also
When ag science meets ag culture
Long overdue it may be, but the wider farming and ag science communities are now earnestly revisiting “ancient” techniques, rooted in the principle of maintaining natural balance, for use in contemporary gardening, cropping and livestock husbandry, Janelle Rudolph writes.
“As we approach Sept. 30, we’re considering an extension to the gas tax holiday,” said Kinew earlier this month. “If people in the fall feel like the cost of living is still a real big burden, then that would be the argument to extend the gas tax holiday further.”
It’s a good bet the premier would have a hard time finding a Manitoban who wants to pay higher gas prices, especially since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to keep hiking his carbon tax. Come April 1, 2025, Trudeau will raise his carbon tax on gasoline from 17 to 21 cents per litre. Manitobans can’t afford to keep paying Trudeau’s carbon tax and have the provincial gas tax tacked back on top.
But this should be a no-brainer. Because of the fuel tax cut, Manitoba has the lowest fuel taxes and lowest fuel prices in the country. Across Canada, gas taxes make up an average of 60 cents per litre of the pump price. In Manitoba, that number is only 34 cents per litre.
Kinew needs to extend the fuel tax cut again because it has saved Manitobans serious money since Jan. 1.
A typical two-car family with a minivan and a light duty pick-up truck that fills up once every two weeks will have saved more than $440 by the end of September. In total, the fuel tax cut will have put $256 million back into Manitoba taxpayers’ wallets. If you drive a larger truck, run a business with a lot of vehicles or have a longer commute, you will have saved even more.
Those savings will come to a screeching halt if Kinew doesn’t extend the cut before the deadline.
And if those numbers aren’t enough, polling also shows that Manitobans want the gas tax cut to stay. Recent Leger polling shows that 71 per cent of Manitobans want the government to extend the gas tax cut again and 68 per cent want the government to scrap the fuel tax for good.
The premier said he hasn’t extended the cut already because it’s a “balancing act.” He argues that the government might want to cancel the cut and take more cash out of Manitoban’s pockets because he wants to spend more money.
The government can extend the gas tax cut without increasing the deficit. It just has to cut wasteful spending.
The fuel tax regularly brings in about $342 million to the government or about 1.4 per cent of total government revenue.
In its latest budget, the government announced a whole whack of corporate welfare and other subsidies. This includes $50 million for a fund to hand out money to corporations and $10 million to a bus company. The government is also spending $25 million to hand out thousands of dollars to electric vehicle buyers.
Not to mention the $40 million in new bureaucrats the government has hired since being elected.
If the government put a lid on the new spending spree, Kinew would be able to extend the gas tax cut for almost another five months without increasing the deficit.
Kinew needs to listen to taxpayers. The government needs to extend the fuel tax cut again and keep Manitobans saving money at the gas station.
