The Trudeau government is considering a recommendation to hit pickup trucks with a new tax that could cost Canadians between $1,000 and $4,000 per truck.
If the tax is approved, popular light-duty trucks such as the Ford F-150, Ram 1500, and Chevrolet Silverado would be charged $1,000, while heavy duty trucks used to tow equipment like the Ram 3500 would pay $4,000.
The Ministry of the Environment released a 271-page report that includes a recommendation to subject pickup trucks to a levy that varies from $1,000 on light-duty trucks to $4,000 on super-duty trucks.
Right now, the Green Levy applies to large SUVs and passenger vans that use more than 13 litres of fuel per 100km. Pickup trucks are expressly exempt from the current tax.
This new recommendation urges the Trudeau government to lift that exemption and to hit pickups with the tax.
The report was posted by the Ministry of the Environment on the Government of Canada website Mar. 31, 2022, titled 2030 Emissions Reductions Plan: Canada’s Next Steps for Clean Air and a Strong Economy.
It includes a foreword by Liberal environment minister Steven Guilbeault, who wrote, “(t)his is our ambitious and achievable roadmap to reach our emissions reduction targets.”
The recommendation for the truck tax read, “(c)onsider adopting an approach that combines financial incentives for the purchase of ZEVs with fees for the purchase of fuel-inefficient ICE vehicles. Broaden Canada’s existing Green Levy (Excise Tax) for Fuel Inefficient Vehicles to include additional ICE vehicle types, such as pickup trucks.”
Speaking to True North, Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) B.C. director Kris Sims pointed out how some professions require these types of trucks and that the tax would have a negative impact on those industries.
“It’s pretty tough to stuff plywood into a Prius and construction tools into a Tesla, so the Trudeau government should scrap these plans to hit trucks with a new tax,” said Kris Sims.
Guilbeault called the concerns over this truck tax recommendation “disinformation” on Twitter on Wednesday, writing “(t)his so-called fee on trucks doesn’t exist. It’s fear mongering, plain and simple.”
“If the minister wants to clarify and categorically reject a new tax on pickup trucks he should go ahead and do so, but this recommendation for a truck tax is in his ministry’s report in black-and-white, and Canadians have every right to be concerned about it,” Sims told True North.
Sims encouraged Canadians who oppose the proposed tax on trucks and SUVs to sign the CTF’s petition.
According to Autotrader.com, from Dec. 2020 to Dec. 2021, the average price of a used car increased 34.5% year over year, with the cost of new vehicles increasing 12.7%.
Trucks are used in various crucial industries, and the additional cost this may impose on businesses seeking to update their trucks affects getting products to shelves.
The Trudeau government did not announce this tax increase on trucks in any public announcement previous to the Mar. 31 report released by the Ministry of the Environment.
This truck tax comes as the Trudeau government imposes various levies on the Canadian people, including the Apr. 1 carbon tax increase, the tax increase on Canada’s financial sector, and the effects of inflation.
