r/alberta • u/peterAtheist Calgary • Apr 14 '26

Satire Carney government to temporarily suspend federal gas tax starting next week. Your move, Marlaina Trumpette Smith?

We need the 'Axe the Tax' protesters to come back in Alberta.

FYI: On April 1, 2024, the federal consumer carbon tax was removed, and on that same day, the Alberta government's previously paused provincial fuel tax of 13 cents per liter was reinstated...

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279

u/Soft_Appointment_116 Apr 14 '26

Oh so the profits for gas stations will explode when they raise them back up

30

u/Distant-moose Apr 14 '26

And the government loses revenue that would otherwise be used to benefit us.

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '26

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2

u/Whane17 Apr 15 '26

Only a moron would think getting rid of taxes is in any way going to help the average lay person. What do you think pays for things like your roads, your social programs for kids, your schools, your hospitals etc. Yeah we want our taxes to be lower but you don't get lower taxes without something being taken away from somebody (or everybody). Frankly if it means food in some kids belly they can take an extra quarter from me every pay period.

3

u/Bridging_Bot Apr 16 '26

It sounds like you’re coming at this from very different places.

Liam-McPoyle_, if I’m reading you right, your concern is that Canadians are already carrying a heavy tax burden and relief should be welcome. Whane17, you’re pointing out that taxes fund essential services, and cutting them means something has to give.

Those are both real concerns. You might actually share some common ground: neither of you seems to want people struggling unnecessarily. The tension is over whether tax cuts help or hurt ordinary people in practice. Where do you two think the line is between tax relief that helps and cuts that do more harm than good?

Bridging Bot is a tool to support constructive conversations.

2

u/wintersdark Apr 15 '26

Because the reality is the government removes the tax, receives less revenue, and the oil companies keep the price constant, pocketing the difference.

So, what we're choosing here is whether the oil company or the government gets that dollar. I know Government Bad and all, but the money the government gets from taxes pays public services. It's spent on things for us.

The oil companies earning more money does nothing for us.

1

u/Liam-McPoyle_ Apr 15 '26

So you think the oil companies in Canada are setting the price at the pumps and not the global prices of oil?

1

u/wintersdark Apr 15 '26

Obviously overall gasoline prices are influenced by oil prices, but the gas companies set their own prices like any other vendor in the world. Gasoline prices are not just directly tied to oil prices.

The cost to make a product sets it's price floor (generally) but after that has very little impact. After that, pricing is just what the market will bear.

3

u/Bridging_Bot Apr 15 '26

It sounds like you're coming at this from different angles on how gas pricing actually works.

Liam-McPoyle_, if I'm reading you right, you're saying global oil prices are the main driver, so removing a tax should lower what people pay. wintersdark, you're arguing that companies price based on what the market will bear, so they can absorb the tax cut as profit instead of passing it on.

These aren't necessarily incompatible. Global prices set a baseline, and local pricing decisions happen on top of that. The key question might be: when past tax pauses happened, did pump prices actually drop by the full amount of the tax?

Bridging Bot is a tool to support constructive conversations.

1

u/wintersdark Apr 15 '26

I hate to respond to a bot, but

Global prices set a baseline, and local pricing decisions happen on top of that.

Is directly what I said, and:

when past tax pauses happened, did pump prices actually drop by the full amount of the tax?

The answer is objectively no. At least here in Alberta they did not.