06-17-2022, 05:51 AM
(06-17-2022, 01:13 AM)WLU Wrote:(06-16-2022, 08:25 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: Around here everybody wants to reduce the (not very high) gas taxes. Total economic ignorance.
I’ve even seen people arguing that the government’s take is going up due to the high gas prices, which of course is totally wrong since the gas tax is defined in ¢/L, not as a percentage of the price paid.
The government collects more than fuel tax. They collect HST on the final fuel purchase. They are raking in substantially more HST right now because of high fuel prices.
This is likely false or nearly false.
It would only be true if the money people are spending on gas would have otherwise been spent in a way that doesn't result in HST being collected. I.e., if they're buying gas instead of food, or gas instead of investing their money.
If they're buying gas instead of other luxuries (the most likely case) then it's HST neutral.
People make this argument all the time but it's assuming things exist in isolation...they don't.