Facts: the tax

By Al Slavin

Conservative Leader Poilievre’s “Axe the tax” slogan is popular because it rhymes and opposes taxes. However, the slogan is useless without policies to reduce global warming by cutting carbon emissions. “Facts: the tax” also rhymes but is backed by research. Fact #1: Taxes are generally good. They pay collectively for services like health care and ...

Conservative Leader Poilievre’s “Axe the tax” slogan is popular because it rhymes and opposes taxes. However, the slogan is useless without policies to reduce global warming by cutting carbon emissions.

“Facts: the tax” also rhymes but is backed by research.

Fact #1: Taxes are generally good. They pay collectively for services like health care and education that only the rich could afford if paid by individual families.

Fact #2:  About 80 per cent of households get more money back than they spend on the carbon levy. This reduces economic hardships for lower-income households.

Fact #3: Global warming is costing Canadian families $725 a year on average from rising insurance and food costs from floods and drought.

Fact #4: Global warming leads to serious health effects. 619 people died in BC in 2019 from heat-related causes. Smoke from forest fires worsened by global warming causes heart disease, asthma attacks and dementia.

Fact #5: Over 300 Canadian economists agree that carbon pricing not only reduces carbon emissions, but does so at a lower cost than other approaches.

Fact #6: Delays in reducing carbon emissions will cost at least 6 times more than reducing them now.