"Misplaced priorities": Alberta NDP slams Province's fuel tax reintroduction
The provincial government’s decision to bring back the gas tax in Alberta is being criticized heavily by the official opposition.
Alberta’s NDP slammed the reintroduction of the policy, saying the move is “a clear indication” of the government’s “misplaced priorities.”
The Province first introduced a pause on fuel taxes in April 2022 and extended that pause in January 2023, but with oil prices on a decline, the tax is coming back on a sliding scale basis starting in the new year.
“The UCP is more concerned with creating cushy board jobs for their friends at inflated salaries,” Kathleen Ganley, the Alberta NDP energy and climate critic, said in a statement.
“Instead of addressing the pressing needs of Alberta families facing escalating rents, housing affordability crisis, and soaring grocery bills.”
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Albertans don’t pay provincial taxes on fuel, but they do pay GST, a federal fuel tax of 10 cents per litre, and 14.31 cents per litre for the carbon tax.
Beginning on January 1, 2024, taxes will again be collected based on the price of a barrel of oil as determined by West Texas Intermediate (WTI).
The tax will be fully reinstated at 13 cents per litre if the price per barrel is US$79.99 or less; at nine cents per litre if the price is between US$80 and US$84.99 per barrel; and at 4.5 cents per litre if oil is between US$85 and US$89.99 per barrel.
If the price per barrel is US$90 or more, fuel tax collection will continue to be paused and will cost zero cents per litre.
A spokesperson from the finance minister’s office previously told Daily Hive Urbanized that this is one of the policies the government has introduced so it can focus on paying down debt.
Ganley and the Alberta NDP don’t think that’s the case.
“The UCP’s decision to reinstate the fuel tax while Albertans grapple with high costs of living, and while provincial coffers swell with oil revenues, is a clear indication of their misplaced priorities,” she said.
“This isn’t a budget issue, it’s a problem of priorities and a government that is not serious about serving its people.”
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