New tax on electric vehicles a sign of more silliness to come

EVS are not getting a free ride on Saskatchewan roads, writes Sarath Peiris.

Considering the negligible cash gain to be had from an annual road use tax of $150 each on

400 or so personal electric vehicles (EVS) in Saskatchewan, the Scott Moe government is sending a message that has nothing to do with the touted “fairness” of its ill-considered policy.

This is a reaction to the province's predictable loss in the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of the federal carbon tax, and suggests that Moe plans to be obstreperous at every turn as Saskatchewan reluctantly starts negotiating with Ottawa to set a price on carbon emissions.

It started with the premier's vow to provide instant rebates at the pump to motorists, thus completely undermining the intent of the carbon tax, and it would seem things will get a lot sillier over the coming weeks and months.

Chief Justice Robert Wagner's carefully articulated case on the need for sound public policy in combating climate change seems lost on this government, which simply refuses to take steps, however small, toward a future that's far less reliant on carbon.

Whatever those who logically question the fuel tax on EVS might think, for Moe it's an extended opportunity to continue a politically popular bit of fed bashing while pandering to party stalwarts who oppose anything green, especially when it's perceived as a threat to the energy sector.

In imposing the levy on EVS, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer's budget stated: “These vehicles contribute to wear and tear on provincial roadways, but because they do not consume traditional fuels they are not contributing to highway maintenance through the provincial Fuel Tax.”

Although the statement is true on its face, EV owners do contribute quite substantially to provincial coffers through the sales tax each time an electric vehicle is bought (often at a price nearly double that of most conventional fuel vehicles), as well as through higher electricity bills for recharging batteries.

EVS are not getting a free ride on the roads. A look through Saskatchewan budget documents shows clearly that the amounts spent annually to maintain highways far exceed what's collected through the fuel tax on gasoline, diesel and propane that are earmarked for highway building and upkeep. For instance, Harpauer's 2021-22 budget projects spending $830 million on highways, while the fuel tax is expected to raise $477.9 million.

In fact, from 2008 to 2022, fuel tax revenues total $6.8 billion, while $10.6 billion is spent on highways. In other words, the fuel tax covers only part of the total highways cost, while money from income taxes, other levies, and Crown corporation dividends to government coffers covers the rest of the tab.

So, most of us contribute to keeping the roads in good shape, even those who don't own a vehicle.

If there's any “unfairness,” it involves the fuel tax exemption — at an estimated cost of $105 million in 2021 — for vehicles intended for farm use.

Heavy semis and other trucks hauling grain pound the dickens out of Saskatchewan's highways, yet we consider the fuel tax exemption on farm equipment to be a reasonable accommodation for the common good of feeding ourselves and the world.

In the same vein, encouraging — or at least not outright discouraging — the use of carbon non-emitting electric vehicles could be considered a social good that benefits us all, and future generations, by mitigating the impacts of climate change.

But hey, this is Saskatchewan, where all too frequently, clear thinking and logic fall by the wayside to loud cheers from those who can't see beyond their self-interest when it comes to science and climate policy.

Instead of joining the federal government, British Columbia, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in providing incentives for motorists to buy electric vehicles at a time when the globe's carbon dioxide levels have reached a three-million-year high, Saskatchewan instead is choosing to join the likes of Georgia, Indiana and Mississippi with its silly policy.

The excuse that “others are doing it, too,” is simply not worthy of a government in a province that once led Canada in sound public policy but now seems content to skulk at the back of the pack.