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Opposition says Minister should reduce gas tax High prices burdening consumers and hurting economy May 6, 2005
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George Sweeney, Opposition Government Services Critic and MHA for the
District of Carbonear - Harbour Grace, says government has the ability to
take immediate action to deal with high gas prices by lowering the taxes
paid by consumers. "This government has the financial flexibility to give the consumers of this province a break and they could lower the tax they get from gasoline relatively easy if they wanted to do so," said Sweeney. "The taxes paid on gasoline by consumers in this province are providing a windfall profit to government. "The Minister of Finance has tried to complicate the matter by saying that changing the HST would mean involving the other Atlantic provinces because of a tax agreement they have with those other provinces. The Minister knows he is able to reduce the excise tax on gas without impacting any other province, but he refuses to give up the lucrative windfalls he has experienced since gas prices have gone up." The Liberal Critic says the increasing gas prices have reached a point where they are not only a problem for consumers but are also hampering the provincial economy. "The government should realize these high prices are really having a devastating impact, especially in rural areas of the province. The price of food and other supplies will continue to increase as the cost to transport goods puts a strain on local businesses." Another affected sector of the economy will be tourism related industries. "Visitors and local residents will limit their travel to many areas of our province because of the high gas prices. If the government does not act soon while people are making their travel plans, I believe we will see a negative impact on local businesses and a reduction in the amount of interprovincial travel. "I will continue to raise this issue until the Minister of Government Services and Minister of Finance deal with prohibitively high gas prices. Government has a role to play in regulating the price of gasoline paid by consumers in this province and action must be taken."
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