Re: Poll Gas Watch
09/02/05 11:16 AM
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jrs
Reged: 03/31/03
Posts: 317
Loc: Aberystwyth, Wales
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I was just told that our gas in Halifax is now around $1.48/litre ($4.72/gallon USD).
And yes, the reason why it is more expensive is because the tax component is higher. However, it is an excise tax (constant amount), not an ad valorum tax (certain percentage), so the recent increases have mostly been from increases in the market price - there is no tax component. However, I say 'mostly' since they also add GST/PST/HST on top of that, the amount of which will increase as prices increase.
The flat tax itself varies by province, from .20 per litre in Alberta to .28 per litre in PEI. Then you add anywhere from 7% (Alberta again) to 15% (Maritimes) on top of that.
However, I can't really advocate lowering or getting rid of it (as many do) because most of the increase in prices are market based, and likely to exhibit a continuous upward trend anyway once this current shortage is over. A better idea would be to allocate some of the taxes as subsidies with respect to essentials such as home heating oil since it is more difficult for everyone to quickly adapt to the sudden price increases on the cost of heating their homes than it is their transportation.
Rural people are kind of out of luck in this, I know, and will likely face a greater overall increase in price levels than people in urban centres. It's unclear to me whether this can be (or to what extent it should be - is there a normative case for rural vs. urban outside of personal preference?) fixed though.
- Vincent
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