They say misery loves company and for the Trudeau Liberals that apparently includes miserable tax policy.
It hasn鈥檛 even been a month since Ottawa imposed its hated carbon tax on much of the country and lo and behold, it already has another new tax on the table.
Last year, Environment Canada commissioned accounting firm Deloitte to undertake a study of Canada鈥檚 $35 billion plastics industry. The resulting report, released earlier this month, noted that only 9 per cent of plastics are recycled.
Unsurprisingly, the report goes on to propose various ideas to improve the rate of recycling, such as (on page 22) a 鈥渢ax or fee on virgin resins.鈥� Those resins are used to make new plastics. Why a new tax? Because according to the report, it would 鈥渕ake secondary plastic more economically appealing to manufacturers.鈥�
Translation: the government is thinking about promoting recycling by punishing people for buying products made from new plastic. Ottawa thinks it鈥檚 a problem that new plastics are less expensive than old plastics and the solution is to make everything expensive. What could be the downside of making everything expensive?
If this reasoning sounds familiar, it鈥檚 because we鈥檝e heard it before from the same crowd that cheers for higher gas prices on the basis that it makes electric vehicles more attractive. Higher prices 鈥� and by extension, increasingly squeezed taxpayers 鈥� are the explicit goal.
Indeed, the Deloitte report observed that a plastic tax 鈥渃ould lead to increased consumer prices.鈥� The report doesn鈥檛 seem worried about what that will do to family budgets and small businesses. In fact, it doesn鈥檛 even venture an estimate of how much a plastic tax would cost taxpayers.
But, following the same logic as carbon taxes, the higher the tax, the greater the behavioural response 鈥� meaning that if the government is truly keen on significantly upping recycling rates, it would have to mean a fairly hefty tax.
That could end up costing Canadians billions.
You would think that a government that鈥檚 looking out for 鈥渢he middle class and those working hard to join it鈥� would be laser-focused on finding ways to make life more affordable.
Instead, the Trudeau government seems to be working overtime to find ways to do the opposite.
Whether it鈥檚 carbon taxes, hiking Canada Pension Plan premiums, bungled small business tax proposals or escalator taxes on alcohol, it often feels like this is a government just itching to leave your wallet a bit lighter tomorrow than it is today.
It鈥檚 sadly predictable from a government committed to the perverse approach of constantly aiming to drive Canadians鈥� cost of living up, rather than down.
It鈥檚 what you get when you try to use sticks rather than carrots to change people鈥檚 behaviour.
Perhaps after seeing province after province turn against the carbon tax, the prime minister and his team might 鈥� finally - realize that Canadians aren鈥檛 fooled by their half-baked tax grabs.
Perhaps knowing there鈥檚 a federal election on the horizon will make them come to their senses - and distance themselves from this new stinker of a policy as quickly as possible.
Or perhaps they will have to learn the hard way at the ballot box that yet another tax is the last thing Canadians need.听
听
