Discussions

Got my check in the mail today  
It will fill my tank a couple times anyway  
Does anyone else see the logic in giving a carbon tax check to all these people that don’t even drive or have cars  
Even people with disabilities that have never driven and never will get a check  
Just another example of the government wasting our money  
Forget the check and lower our gas prices

People pay carbon tax on piles of different things, not just gas.  
 
That's said, I think the carbon tax system in general is a complete farce. Why collect extra taxes on products, just to issue us a refund? IMO, whoever was involved in implementing such a thing, should be terminated immediately. Politicians are awesome.

It works by changing people's spending behaviours. When things are more expensive, people tend to buy less of them. Basic economics of supply and demand. Economists say that the carbon tax with rebate is the cheapest way to change our consumption of carbon intense goods and services. So the tax changes our consumption and the rebate ensures we aren't financially worse off. In fact the only people who really pay more than they get are the wealthiest who spend more than the average person on travel, carbon-intensive leisure (e.g. power sports), etc. Basically, the experts say that every other strategy to reduce our carbon consumption is more expensive than the tax-rebate system.

Thank you, BUFAMEMBER for chiming in. It's nice to hear a voice of sanity with a cogent explanation.

Just chiming in because there are so many people complaining about the carbon tax and the rebates and it's nice to see a reasonable pro argument presented. I think most people with lower incomes benefit and don't realize it. Thank you ABUFAMEMBER.

CO2 is produced from all kinds of sources including the production and transportation of the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the furnishings in your house, the electronics you use, and pretty much every other facet of consumption in industrialized societies. The gas you put in your car is only a fraction of what individuals produce within their carbon footprint.  
 
As ABUFAMEMBER stated it is about introducing a cost associated with emissions that will push to lessen consumption whilst not impacting less wealthy or average consumers. Studies show that 80 percent of Canadians actually receive a net benefit from the program and it is also revenue neutral so there is no wasting of money going on.  
 
We have had billions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies annually for decades and you don't hear disabled people or those who never drive a car as you stated complaining about that, never mind all the millions of tax dollars that go to maintaining roadways.  
 
We are facing a monumental crisis related to carbon emissions and the propaganda is so powerful it deludes people into thinking a program that takes even a small step to address this issue is somehow hurting your average consumer.

I wish I had bookmarked the video, but guy who was trying to dispute the carbon tax actually did the math and as ABUFARMER noted most folks get back more in the refund cheque than they pay out.

Idk I can’t see that . My return is 170 ish . There is no way I’m getting back more than I put into it. I seen a comment earlier about how the carbon tax changes spending habits…. That’s far from the truth . Nothing has changed… shoot even ford canceled the electric suv build in Ont to ramp up the F series trucks . I work a lot in the states and they haven’t banned any plastic. Seems like Canada is trying to win the fight on carbon alone ? Hmmm don’t make sense to keep taxing us when there’s no point . Also the big oil companies haven’t even dropped in emissions. Carbon tax is a broken system and should be abolished.

The problem being, the carbon tax does not apply to everyone. I have no problem paying taxes. Taxes is what runs the country. I just ask that:  
#1 Don't waste my tax money (like on a $16.00 glass of orange juice) and,  
#2 make if fair for everyone.  
 
Right now, what you call the wealthiest, don't pay carbon tax. the big and I mean the biggest polluters in the country don't pay. Locally (and I don't know for sure) but Koch is the biggest carbon producer in Manitoba, pretty sure they don't pay carbon tax.  
 
I'll do my part and pay, reduce where I can, get a small amount back from the Fed's, but just keep it fair for everyone.

Not everyone will make money off teh carbon tax, but you pretty much have to try to be on the losing end.  
 
Take me for example, I drive a 3 cylinder vehicle and I spend around $80/month on gas for my car, and my hydro bill is about $30/ month, on average.  
 
10 years ago, I commuted to Brandon from my acreage near Wawanesa in a Ford F150. Back then my gas was roughly $500/month and my hydro bill was about $230/month.  
 
As fuel prices rose I made the decision to sell my truck, my motorcycle and my home and move into Brandon (where I work) and buy a more fuel efficient vehicle and move into an energy efficient apartment. Had I not changed, I would most certainly be paying.  
 
Say what you will, but there are people out there making changes.

According to 3rd party sources the carbon tax adds about 3.3 cents to the cost of a litre of gas. For arguments sake lets go high and say its 5 cents. That would mean you would have to buy 3400 litres of gas every three months to reach a 170 dollar increase in your gas bill. That's approximately filling a ford f150 25 times. While this calculation is purely based on fuel consumption for cars and doesn't consider the increased price of goods as a result of increased transport costs that is still something the carbon tax aims at capturing by creating a cost associated with the emissions resulting from transporting and producing goods.  
 
How would Koch escape paying a larger amount of this tax than the average person? They use exponentially more fuel to transport their inputs and outputs than your average consumer. I find it hard to believe you use the same amount of gas as the entire Koch plant. On top of that they are also charged extra by the provincial government based on the amount of emissions they produce from their industrial activities.  
 
Canada is not the only country trying to curb emissions. In Europe alone Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom all have carbon taxes. Looking to the United States to show any sort of leadership towards dealing with climate issues is an absolute joke.

I agree with your calculations to a point but it’s also supposed to cover off increased freight costs on our food etc.