Alberta fuel tax break comes into effect

The measure will remain in place until at least June 30 when the government will consider the future of the tax based on a sliding scale of the price of West Texas Intermediate crude.

The province estimates that the removal of the gas tax will amount to total savings of about $6.80 per tank for a compact car (50 litres), $7.21 for a small SUV (53 litres), $12.65 for a mid-size SUV (93 litres), $18.50 for a large pickup truck (136 litres) and $185.50 for a semi-trailer (1,364 litres).

The suspension of the fuel tax comes on the same day the federal government increases the carbon tax by three cents per litre.

The UCP has been pushing Ottawa not to increase the carbon tax as of April 1, but Premier Jason Kenney says the request was ignored because “they want to punish Canadians for filling up their gas tanks, heating their homes, turning on their electricity, and living normal lives.”

Kenney says “by contrast Alberta’s government is taking action to save people money to put more jingle in their jeans to let them keep more of their hard-earned cash.”

In providing relief at the pumps to Albertans, the government will see an estimated $100 to $115 million decrease in fuel tax revenue for each of the first three months.

Albertans will see further relief through other cost-saving measures to be introduced in the coming months:

Alberta’s government will provide $150 in electricity rebates to more than one million eligible homes, farms and businesses that have been affected by above-average consumption costs over the past several months.
A natural gas relief program, announced as part of Budget 2022, will see eligible consumers receive a rebate when natural gas prices exceed $6.50 per gigajoule starting in October.

Further details about both programs will be announced in the coming weeks.

by Regan Tate

Alberta fuel tax break comes into effect

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