Getting to the bottom of gas taxes

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OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – May 26 is National Gas Tax Honesty Day.

It’s a day dedicated to letting consumers know how much money they are passing on to the provincial and federal governments every time they fill up the tank.

“Provincial government levy on average about 16 cent a litre in their hidden taxes. The federal government levies 10 cents a litre in their hidden taxes.  Then the federal/provincial governments throw the GST/HST on top of that,” said Derek Fildebrant with the Canadians Taxpayers Federation.

Fildebrant says that on average 30 per cent of what drivers pay at the pumps are taxes, with most hidden behind the price per litre, and then sales tax added on at the register.

“A litre of gasoline in Canada, without any taxes, would be about 90 cents but right now we’re probably going to pay about $1.29 in most places.”

The CTF is calling on the province and federal governments to get rid of the sales tax for gasoline, saying it’s time to “axe the tax on tax,” a phrase Prime Minister Harper used when he was in opposition and called for the elimination of sales tax on gas.

The highest gas levies in the country are in British Columbia and Quebec, while the lowest are in Alberta.

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