Discussions

For those of you that may not remember, carbon tax is in affect April 1st. There is more people filling gas at the moment. Fill your gas tank Yup before April 1st !

People are going to need to fill up AFTER the 1st too. We are going to pay it one way or another.

I filled up this morning, might as well get one last fill at a lower price. Does anyone know how much the price of gas is going increase?

I heard 5 cents a litre

everything else you buy thats moved across canada is going to be rising here to, when the costs are passed on for transporting goods. or for those heating buildings with sources that have carbon taxes applied. 5 cents on fuel we buys only just the start ! Also don't forget everything that rises will have more taxes added to on top of the carbon tax .  
 
Edited by Farmboy74, 2019-03-30 14:38:32

I understand that. But can somebody tell me please where is this money going...

Gas has gone up about 15-20 cents since the end of the cold snap for no reason.  
 
Honestly it'll be almost refreshing to know why it'll be going up this time. And it isn't like it hasn't been closer to $1.50/L before, too.

Story on the carbon tax and why gas will also increase, besides the carbon tax.  
 
http://www.qcountryfm.ca/news-weather/news-sports-details/newsarticle/gas-prices-at-135-by-may-long-weekend/?print=%3A1&cHash=fef6c7c0bc02919d1ab535286bbb0e91

It pisses me off to target a certain area we have no control over. A bus for my wife would cost $4.50 per day and she would need to be at the stop at 6:30am to be at work for 8am. And at the end of the day catch a bus 50 minutes after work to get home at almost 7pm. Or we pay $5 per day to go to and from work in our own vehicle and it only takes 20 minutes. Saving over 3.5hours of walking and sitting on a bus.  
 
Our city isn't too big that we could run golf carts in the city. They go up to 30 km/h and get 50-60km on a charge. Totally viable for our city at a cost of about $4000 for a decent used card. Brand new you are looking at 10-15 grand which is totally within my cost range. The new EV cars by Chevy and Ford run you 40-50 grand. That is just too rich for my blood considering the same car in gas is half that price. 20 grand in gas would get me a long ways.

The way Brandon drivers are you'll be dead on the first day of using a golf cart in Brandon.

For those of us who have installed solar panels, when do we get a cheque for the carbon that we have saved with the electricity that we have produced? So far, we have saved over 24 tonnes with our system since it started working. Seems only fair to me - if we are charged for making carbon, we should get a refund for saving it.

Business looks to be good at Canadian Tire gas bar this afternoon...

will be filling up before April Fools as well! LOL

So the powers that be want to tax carbon usage to encourage other energy sources but for me it gets complicated. Housing prices right in Brandon are very unaffordable for a single person. I live 40 minutes from Brandon and have more home for my dollar. I work in Brandon now because job market isn't great in the rural combined with suffering some injuries so the bull work jobs don't cut it for me now. Suddenly I am in a lose lose situation. My travel costs are rising. Selling what I have to move to the city isn't really an option either. I am either mortgage broke or gas bill broke. Frustrated to say the least.

Correct me if I'm wrong please, but this carbon tax is a financial drain (on the consumer) to dissuade us from using carbon based fuels. A commodity that each and every one of us Canadians must use, directly or indirectly to live, work and be productive in this country. Further to that there is no clear direction on how this tax will really do much of anything to reduce our carbon footprint aside from the few people that are both willing as well as able to reduce their fuel usage.  
 
In my mind, it's nothing more than a measure taken to make our country look good on the world stage, and the most notable result is likely to be a higher cost of living for all Canadians.

Regardless if you own a car or not, you will pay more for everything because of this carbon tax...the costs of public transit, and all products and services will increase because they will have to compensate for their increased costs and will pass that on to the consumer. The climate action incentive tax credit that we got on our tax return is literally pennies compared to what we will paying out every year in the added costs.

I’ve never studied economics at a school of higher learning, but have spent a large part of life reading about economics, and the scary part is it has made sense to my simple mind.  
I’m not going to mix politics with economics by saying one party is better than any other when it comes to the spending of our money, they have all proven that there is very little economic sense when it comes to doing what government is supposed to do. Real frustration comes from understanding that nearly everyone expects government to address every issue that comes up, and believing that government has unlimited funds. If you want to know what taxes do to society, just ask where the middle class went, basically it has been taxes that destroyed the middle class.  
This tax is just another step of government searching for funds to continue trying to keep the boat afloat, but between increasing taxes, as well as the cost of ever increasing regulation, the idea of a capitalist democracy no longer exists or is profitable.  
Frustration, it’s not so much about me, but us.  
My apologies for rambling on, but when people talk of a tipping point we are well past that point.  
Two terms to maybe read up on are, maximum propensity to consume, and maximum propensity of taxation.

This carbon tax cannot work, here is why.  
1. It is a inflation driver. companies will pass the cost down the food chain to the ultimate consumer. Those consumers are now poorer and will have less money to make good consumer choices. Those consumers will then have less money to spend on healthy food options and switching to more environmental friendly options.  
2. The tax credit that is given back will be smaller than the taxes taken. There are administration and other costs that will have to be taken care of before credits are given. In order for part of the population to receive more than they spend, another portion will have to loose a significant amount. Even if at the end of the day they get back more than they spend directly, it will cost them more then they get back through indirect cost. ei. inflation.  
3. It wouldn't make a difference, especially on the personal level. Humans are not going to change their behavior on a politicians promise of a tax credit. few Canadians do their own taxes to see the difference, if they notice it they will generally not be aware of what gave them a credit or even if the politicians kept their word. Even if they do notice it, they can do nothing to increase or decrease the credit. If they make good or bad choices they still get the credit. All it really does is drive inflation.  
4. If it only drives inflation than fewer people will be able to afford the more environmentally friendly choices. The poorest will not buy the electric cars... it'll be the upper to middle class. the low income families will wait till there are 2nd hand electric vehicles on the market. This carbon will in no way help speed up the process.  
5. However they will still claim credit. Car companies will are going to release quite a few electric vehicles in the next couple of years. Tesla just came out with it's $35,000 US base model 3. Their getting up to 300 miles per charge on the newest Model Y models, and are also putting out impressive charge times with their new level 3 super charges, (20 min to 80% charge I think). This will only improve in the next couple years as battery technology improves. I'm guessing Brandon will have one of those chargers in the next 2 years as Tesla moves to put in super chargers from coast to coast along the trans Canada. People in general want to be better for the environment and will move to better options with or without a carbon tax. They will do so at a pace they can afford as their current tech becomes dated.  
Because of this trend and the additional options that will come on the market soon, politicians will see this increase in buying of environmental friendly options. They will immediately take credit for it saying it was their carbon tax that caused it.  
 
A Carbon tax could work. But only if based on a tax reward system. Tax bad choices in every class. reward good choices in every class. people that make good choices get rebates and deductions that are paid for by taxing bad choices. This is the only Carbon tax that could make a difference. As more people make good choices the rewards would get smaller and could potentially disappear if everyone made good choices. At least that way there would actually be something an individual could do to get out of the carbon tax. At least this way the country could work towards getting rid of the tax entirely based on making good choices. Currently no matter the choice you get taxed, and those taxes are going to increase no matter what you choose.  
 
Bottom line. This Tax is not only stupid, from an environmental standpoint its crazy.  
 
Edited by rum, 2019-03-31 23:55:28

Gas price here in Winnipeg went down overnight at a number of stations. Go figure. (Some stations went up, some went down, many stayed the same as of 8AM)  
 
BTW, contrary to the ramblings of some, carbon taxes have generally been seen to work where they have been used.  
 
Edited by PuddleJumper, 2019-04-01 08:13:02

Don did the price of your farm delivered fuel go up this morning? Do you pay provincial fuel tax on your bulk farm fuel?  
Might be more info in those answers than reading up on your two definitions.

Shouldn't have paid more for fuel. There is a form to fill out to get tax exemption.

If you honestly believe, I mean honestly believe that you have save 24 Tonnes of carbon from going into the atmosphere then you have been watch David Suzuki to much.

If my world was only a world that I cared about me I would never bother posting on anything. If you have a problem about any of the breaks that farmers get, you are still free to go ahead and do it.  
There are industries that contribute greatly to our country, and those industries are usually the ones that are involved in primary production, these industries are also the ones that may get some breaks, partially because they deal on a world market as far as production goes, just look at the hit the oil industry has taken again.  
If I lived in a me world, I wouldn’t care what government did, I would just sell my children’s future and be a happy camper until I died, but at times I do look around at what is happening and it does bother me how we have swallowed the socialist idea without much questioning.  
The government does what a lot of people do, and that is they don’t think about the future, it’s about we’ll try and keep the people happy regardless of cost, but very few people understand that being happy is one of the reasons infrastructure got ignored.  
I could likely go on and on, but is it worth it, I know I likely won’t change, but I would hope that people would take a look at where we are headed, all parties eventually end and the hangovers can be terrifying.

Pallister cancelled the Manitoba carbon tax of $25 per tonne.  
 
Now that we're under the federal system it's starting at $20 and going up to $50 per tonne in 2020.  
 
... and Manitoba doesn't control the revenue.  
 
Edited by Hey!, 2019-04-01 11:15:34

My comprehension of your answer must be off this morning. I guess when all Manitobans are treated equally, we will all pay our fair share. Until that happens the polluters will always have an unfair advantage.

The only problem is that equal seems to mean many things to many people. Even if the system is, for all intents and purposes, treating people equally, there will always be segments of the populations who swear up and down that they are not being treated equally. The second problem comes in when you need to differentiate between equality of opportunity or equality of outcome. For those reasons, could you clarify your view of Manitobans being treated equally?  
 
Edited by JustASoul, 2019-04-01 12:25:22

Exactly.  
Government very seldom looks at the diversity of the nation when it implements tax, and this is governments at every level. If we all lived in major population areas, where you have access to something like public transport, or even driving to work or picking up repairs was not a 60 mile drive then it might be fine. Or if there was technology available that the work you did didn’t require large amounts of hydrocarbon fuels. Talking government and equality could be a very tender spot for many people living in rural areas, and I know that it’s not going to get any better, the death of the heartland will continue.

"BTW, contrary to the ramblings of some, carbon taxes have generally been seen to work where they have been used. "  
 
Could you give some examples please. Australia repealed their carbon tax and France has had some talk recently about lowering their tax. Perhaps this is politically motivated, but the same could be suggested about the implementation of a carbon tax in the first place.

Yes or no would be the answer, and not both.

If all Manitoban's were treated the same, it would be equal and fair to all. If all are treated fairly and equally, you will have a better outcome, given the same opportunity.