Another jump at the pump on Canada Day

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Bad news for drivers as the carbon tax jumps again today. The tax goes up just over a cent, meaning prices at the pump will jump.

While the government is toting the tax, the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation calls the levy a joke.

The CTF says the increase will now have British Columbians paying a record $1.8 billion in gas taxes this year alone. Around the Lower Mainland, drivers are paying a continent-high 49.1 cents a litre in levies.

BC Director Jordan Bateman says technically the carbon tax is revenue neutral.

“We just feel like the carbon tax has been an unfair tax shift, especially on to rural and suburban British Columbians who don’t have transit options that downtown Vancouver residents have,” feels Bateman, adding the tax is hurting our economy.

“A lot of drivers already head to Abbotsford where they don’t have to pay the TransLink gas tax and just as many probably go to the United States,” says Bateman. “The sad part is that it directly affects British Columbia economy.”

The federation will be making a written submission to the provincial government, calling for it to be scrapped.

Meanwhile, BC Attorney General Shirley Bond says her government is now reviewing what they want to do with the tax moving forward.

“I think people do want to see environmental leadership in the province and obviously the carbon tax is one of the things where British Columbia led, but it’s always a balance,” explains Bond. “I live in a rural part of the province, so we tend to drive a lot more miles and we have to utilize vehicles a lot more frequently. So again, there’s always a mixed view about issues like that.”

This is the third year in a row the tax has gone up.

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