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BC Gas Tax to Start Tomorrow - So What?

By crooky | June 30, 2008

My wife got me panicked this morning because she said there was a “24 cent” per litre gas tax starting tomorrow. I said “WHAT?” and promptly got online to confirm. It’s actually 2.4 cents per litre. When I usually fill up, I put $50 in. A 2.4 cent per litre gas tax means I’m paying an exta 80 cents at the pump when I fill up. OH NO!!!! TIME TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT!!!! 80 CENTS! RISE UP AND SMITE OUR OPPRESSORS!!!! THEY ARE NOT GOING TO GET $30 - $50 per year MORE FROM THIS CITIZEN!!!

Here’s why I don’t give a shit about the gas tax and you shouldn’t either:

1. It’s not enough to affect me.

I don’t know about where you live but gas prices fluctuate by more than this on a daily basis where I live. 2.4 cents? My gas discount at Safeway is often 7 cents per litre. Rising gas prices have only impacted my driving behaviour slightly. What’s an extra 2.4 cents per litre going to do?

The big burn for me is parking fees. When I drive downtown in my new, fuel efficient VW Golf, I’m spending about $9 on gas for a 100km round-trip. Parking downtown for the day can run well in excess of $20 though. That’s the big stick that gets me to leave the car at home - the idea of paying double or triple what I paid in gas to park.

2. I write off most of my gas at the end of the year as a tax deduction.

This doesn’t apply to everyone but for the self-employed, I have to buy gas to put in my work vehicle (which I also write off) and I write that gas off at the end of the year. It doesn’t really matter if it’s 2.4 cents per litre more. In fact, the more expensive gas is, the bigger the writeoff I get - as long as I can afford to pay it up front.

I also write off my parking for business which is why I don’t fly off the handle about parking too often either.

3. As a straight sin-tax, I am in support of the concept of the gas tax.

I know that fossil fuels are killing the planet. I know that I could be more eco friendly. I’m not super eco-friendly and I’m happy to pay the sin tax on gas because of that. It’s the same thing with alcohol and tobacco. People should begrudge paying the sin tax on those either. They know that their vice is costing society in the long run. When that’s the situation, you pay the tax and shut up about it.

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Aaron “Crooky” Cruikshank is the Principal and Founder of Friuch Consulting. He has written professionally about science and technology for ten years.

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Topics: Cars, Policy, social issues |

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