The carbon tax costs the average Canadian more than they get back, so why does Trudeau keep claiming the opposite?
The main Liberal talking point on the carbon tax is that most people will get back more through the climate action incentive rebate than they pay in the carbon tax itself.
That claim has always given the carbon the feeling of being a bit of a scam.
For example, imagine if a politician promoted a new sales tax by claiming you would get back more than you paid.
It wouldn’t seem logical.
After all, the government can give out any kind of ‘rebate’ it wants, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually connected to a tax.
The decision to implement a tax and issue a rebate are separate choices.
And, if the whole point of a carbon tax is to cut consumption (make Canadians poorer), then giving out a rebate counteracts the whole thing.
So, the most likely outcome was always that the carbon tax would take more from Canadians than the rebate gave back, and that the Liberals would hope to make things confusing enough to get away with lying about it.
That is indeed the case, as confirmed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer:
Already, the carbon tax has a net cost rather than a net benefit for the majority of households.
And, that impact worsens every year for the majority of households, as the tax goes up every year.
As noted by the PBO, the cost of the carbon tax can’t be measured only in terms of much people pay, but in the economic losses it incurs.
Those losses are also set to go up year after year, further increasing the cost.
Here’s what Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said about the impact of the carbon tax:
“”Incorporating economic impacts into our distributional analysis helps to provide a more complete picture of the overall impact of the federal carbon pricing system on households under the federal backstop.
Under the Government’s HEHE plan, most households in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario will see a net loss resulting from federal carbon pricing. That is, the costs they face—including the federal carbon levy, higher GST and lower incomes—will exceed the Climate Action Incentive rebate they receive.””
Conservative Shadow Minister for Families, Children & Social Development, Michelle Ferreri noted this in the House of Commons when confronting Justin Trudeau on the impact of the carbon tax.
In response, Trudeau continued to spread the Liberal lie – claiming most people get back more than they pay:
“If the Prime Minister could do some basic math, he would understand that my constituents aren’t getting more back than what they pay in a carbon tax.
The Independent Parliamentary Budget Officer has already confirmed this.”
If the Prime Minister could do some basic math, he would understand that my constituents aren't getting more back than what they pay in a carbon tax.
The Independent Parliamentary Budget Officer has already confirmed this. https://t.co/Fea3lR0U1H pic.twitter.com/QTJz9icdDs
— Michelle Ferreri (@mferreriptbokaw) February 8, 2023
So, why does Trudeau continue to lie?
Because he and the Liberals know that the truth of the carbon tax is indefensible, especially at a time when so many Canadians are struggling. As a result, the Liberals have decided to simply pretend the carbon tax makes people better off, hoping their lies will fool Canadians.
That’s why we need to keep calling out Trudeau’s dishonesty and push back whenever he tries to deceive the Canadian People.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – Twitter
