Sask. fighting carbon tax despite pumping up PST

Saskatchewan is moving away from a reliance on resource revenue by filling its coffers with money from consumption taxes.

That’s most notably evident by the Sask. Party government’s decision to expand the provincial sales tax base and raise it a point to six per cent.

Despite this, the province is still mounting a challenge against a federally imposed carbon tax, which is also considered a consumption tax.

Budget documents show the province plans 51 per cent of its revenue to come from taxes in 2017-18. The bulk of that will come from collecting personal income taxes and taxes on items people consume.

A carbon tax can work in a number of ways, but at its core aims to put a price on carbon — pollution — in order to encourage ways of avoiding carbon use.

Alberta prices carbon at $20 per tonne and, when introduced in January, the province estimated it would cost, based on typical fuel use and before rebates, to be $191 for a single adult, $259 for a couple and $338 for a couple with two children per year. Surcharges are placed on fuels like gasoline, diesel and natural gas.

That province’s budget, released just prior to Saskatchewan’s, shows that province expects to receive $1 billion in 2017-18 from its carbon levy, with the money raised being rebated to low- and middle-income Albertans, being put into green technology and helping to reduce the small business tax rate.

Saskatchewan, despite its want to move toward consumption taxes and away from resource revenues, remains staunchly against a carbon tax.

At the same time, the province has significantly increased the PST: A family of four making $75,000 a year will be paying about $442 more in consumption taxes as a result.

Energy Minister Dustin Duncan reiterated that on Wednesday, saying he does not think a price on carbon is the best way to reduce emissions.

“Technology is the way to see actual real reductions in carbon emissions,” he said.

“We think that, particularly in light of the fact that we are a heavily export-based economy, a carbon intense economy, a carbon tax would disproportionately and negatively impact Saskatchewan.”

We think that ... a carbon tax would disproportionately and negatively impact Saskatchewan.