Canadians can expect things to get even more expensive as two major federal tax hikes will go into effect on April 1.
A scheduled hike on the carbon tax will bring the federal levy up to 14 cents per litre which means households should expect to pay up to $847 more in taxes this year even after rebates are distributed.
On top of that, the carbon tax will lead to a spike in the price of gasoline and could impact the cost of transporting basic goods.
The other major tax hike is the alcohol escalator tax which will go up to 6.3% – the largest alcohol tax increase in over thirty years.
Despite having to pay some of the highest alcohol taxes in the world, taxes will take up an even larger portion for the price of a drink.
On Thursday, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to follow the wishes of parliament and scrap the alcohol tax hike.
“The only time members of Parliament got to vote on this tax hike, they overwhelmingly voted against it,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano.
“MPs clearly want to see the alcohol tax hike scrapped in next Tuesday’s budget.”
This week MPs voted 170 to 149 in favour of scrapping the alcohol tax hike while Canadians struggle with inflation and the rising cost of living.
“Trudeau must listen to Canadians and MPs and cancel this undemocratic tax hike that will increase the cost of living when Canadians are struggling to stretch our paycheques,” said Terrazzano.
