With gasoline at the pumps hitting record highs, consumers are beginning to chant they’re fed up and they won’t take it anymore. Among the most consistent cries is for governments to lower the tax on gasoline.
The Canadian Press examined the question and called on a number of experts from across the country. Reporter Murray Brewster called AIMS for its opinion. He writes:
The head of an east coast economic think tank said that there is no doubt that Canadians are over-taxed, but lowering levies on fuel is a bad idea.
“Rising prices are not just greedy people lining their pockets,” said Brian Lee Crowley of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies in Halifax. “Rising prices are a signal to consumers to use less of something that is becoming scarce.”
Crowley said government, including Ottawa, “should be looking at a rebate on heating oil and possibly gasoline.”
The article was carried in newspapers across the country, including the Halifax Chronicle-Herald at www.herald.ca. Access to the complete story is available to subscribers.