The shocking truth about B.C.’s carbon tax: It works

[Oliver88]

The article mentions a drop of 16% of fuel use, I would assume this data is based on fuel purchased. A lot of BC's population is concentrated close to the U.S. border, has anyone studied how many more cross boarder trips there are to fill their fuel tank. I would be willing to bet that accounts for a great deal of the drop in fuel purchases.

Strong majority live very close to US border.

So in other words, more fuel is being burned to fill up at fuel stations further away......talk about progress.

[chuckChuck]

Some Canadians who live near the US border in other provinces also fill up in the US, carbon tax or not. Taxes on fuel in the US have always been lower. Unless you have hard data on the number of trips and whether the carbon tax was a factor you are just speculating.

Lots of people in Vancouver don't even own cars. I would say the number of trips into the US has really dropped off in the last few months. If you are just going down to fill up you are wasting alot of time and money especially to cross at a very busy crossing south of Vancouver.

[burnt]

The cross-border shopping tells a tale far greater than merely buying a tank of fuel.

Many border-dwelling consumers leave a significant amount of their income is the US border towns/cities.

Not hard to guess why - the lower prices achieved through much higher American market volumes and far lower taxes make the trip more than worthwhile.

Thew higher taxes reflect the cost of our social programs, to which we deeply addicted.

So when the driver is jolted with another slap-in-the-face carbon tax, the trip just gets that much more profitable.

So, of course, it looks like the carbon tax lowered consumption and the cash-grabbing government says 'look our tax is working!'

[oneoff]

If anyone were to ask Americans what their take on then CO2 topic/fossil fuels....they would hear the most common answer that an election is just "x" months away.

Up to now and into the future it appears that the Canadian Federal government is out of sync with the USA public. And also out of sync with the agenda of the Canadians who can quote the latest selected data purported to back their theories.

Not all that convincing; just blindly repeating someone else's propaganda. How many brownie points are expected for those re released press releases.

Just wait till the Donald meets with "our" Prime Minister. We'll all need help.

[sumdumguy]

Why don't these "economists" look a little deeper?Who is paying the bulk of these carbon taxes? - the income generators. Its not the city guy who rides his bike to the gym. This tax as well as other taxes imposed on the productive class, crowds out private corporate investment, something that is pretty hard to measure, but nonethelass still there. We, as farmers, will pay more for fuel, emission control, and mechanics and have even less available capital. But the city guy doesn't get it so the "economists" get away with this kind of garbage ( total unscientific, unsubstantiated crap!)

[farmaholic]

Fittng?

[ajl]

Another factor in the so called success of the BC carbon tax is the fact that it transfers wealth from AB and SK to BC as we pay BC carbon tax as our grain passes through BC. There has not been one productive useful job created in BC since the 1960s. Can not sell this one to people with still functioning brains Chuck.

[vvalk]

Never mind a federal carbon tax is estimated to add $35 an acre to our costs from fert, diesel and chemical etc etc, the 75 cents an care we get from being a carbon sink sure helps

[sumdumguy]

Can you imagine how much remuneration and free trips these "economists" get from all their hokey boards? They all jump on the bandwagon for a free ride.

[furrowtickler]

This is the back door taxation I was worried about when Eastern Canada elected the Liberals . The west is about to take er on the chin . We have no choice but to burn fuel to grow a crop - and they know it .

[oneoff]

Chucky doesn't answer direct questions apparently.

He also doesn't know that there are thousands of products derived most easily from fossil fuels..You know; common stuff that everyone tends to need All the way from plastics to building blocks for chewing gum and medical products.

Now its still a trick to build up electrons (from electrical energy produced by wind and solar sources) into complex compounds that just don't tend to exist in nature; but then environmentalists won't notice that there's more to chemistry than the hydrolysis of water for motors that commonly don't yet exist

[oneoff]

I'm sure the Alberta $3Billion "carbon tax" will in some fashion work too.