July 1St 2012 Bc Carbon Tax Increase Happy Canada Day

Premier Clark Increases Green Disincentives for BC Families. True to its word, the BC Government will be increasing it's blanket carbon tax on diesel AND renewable fuels on Canada Day, from 6.39 cents to 7.67 cents per litre. For the consumer, this tax is applied before the HST is calculated, so we're also being taxed 5% on the increased tax. While the spirit of the Carbon Tax is noble -to penalize the movement of moving fossil carbon from underground stores to the atmosphere, it's execution, now 4 years into the experiment, leaves much to be desired particularly for those working towards fossil fuel alternatives. BC finance deemed that Carbon Tax (since 2010) should apply universally to LOW carbon renewable fuels as well -so whether your creating energy from a waste product like recycled fryer oil, or mining it from the tar sands, the fuel taxes are the same. Trouble is, biofuel producers receive few if any of the subsidies, corporate income tax breaks, R&D grants and government support that the fossil oil and gas players receive, which has severely crippled our domestic biofuel industry, making it nearly impossible for us to make a living here doing the right thing. If Ms. Clarke wants to be a green energy leader, she could invest a little HST and Carbon Tax revenue towards commercializing the conversion of pine beetle kill into advanced biofels, instead of pushing to be a slick tar sands middleman. But then again, the Carbon Tax is not spent on innovative ways to reduce carbon, instead, it's supposedly "revenue neutral" -with the net taxes being returned to lower income families to help them pay for the rate increases levied by the utility companies. So, while it looks charitable at first glance, the money still ends up moving up the ladder from the BC families to the oligopolies that control our traditional energy streams. The rich still get richer, and the poor can't afford to get off the treadmill and buy solar panels or efficient diesel or electric cars. At least the liberal government is consistent about green disincentives for BC Families. While heating your home with electricity is discounted under the HST rules, your solar electric panels, or solar thermal and geothermal systems are still subject to a full 12% HST. You want to buy a locally made bicycle to ride to work instead of driving your car? Please add that 12%. When we first started speaking out on this issue last year, our community scale biodiesel company was dealt a whack-a-mole payroll audit, then a couple weeks later, an HST audit. As long as we protest, I would imagine the harassment will continue. Unless of course we ALL protested, then it might be a movement towards affordable green energy, just like we were able to repeal the HST. Please write a letter or email to let Premier Clarke and Finance Minister Kevin Falcon know that waste to energy renewable fuels should not be taxed at the same rates as fossil fuel.

Reference: opengreendoors.blogspot.com