All Glory to the Carbon Tax
It’s been four years since the BC Liberals implemented the carbon tax, and a couple months since it was raised. What has it done for the province? Yadullah Hussain of the Financial Post writes of four primary benefits that BC has received since the carbon tax came into effect: a significant decrease in fuel consumption, a stronger than average economic growth (in comparison to the rest of Canada), a shift away from personal and corporate taxes, and a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. British Columbians are far more accepting of the tax now, but why is the federal government so fearful of it? During the 2008 federal election, the Liberals under Stephane Dion campaigned on the ‘Green Shift’ platform, championing their carbon neutral carbon tax. By reducing the income tax to balance the carbon tax, taxpayers would shoulder no additional burden. That sounds great!
The Conservative Campaign managed to paint Dion in a horrendously negative light.
It lost them the election.
Sure, we hated the carbon tax as much as the rest of Canada did back in 2008, but maybe attitudes have changed. A quick survey of comments on various articles indicates that many across Canada are ready, even excited for a revenue-neutral carbon tax. Admittedly, the internet is notorious for its progressive Liberal bias, but they have a voice, just like everyone else, and it seems to be telling the government to implement the carbon tax.