[GREN-Exec] gas taxes

[John Jackson]

To add to what Susan said, currently Toronto has the power to levy such a
tax because the Province passed special legislation giving them powers that
no where else in Ontario has. Good old Ford is now withdrawing some of the
special taxes the last council put in place under this legislation. Waterloo
Region should say that because the Province did not come through with the
funding expected from them, they should give Waterloo Region the same
revenue raising powers that they gave to Toronto.

John



On 11-01-05 2:19 PM, "Susan Koswan" <dandelion at gto.net> wrote:

> I am absolutely blown away by the potential revenue generated by a gas tax of
> only 1 cent per litre! This is what we have to push for. (my bold and
> underline below). Just talked to John on the phone and his thinking was that
> the Region should approach the province for the authority to impose a gas tax
> because of the shortfall in their commitment to the LRT.
> I think this funding approach would be entirely palatable to the residents of
> the Region. For my 50 litre tank Honda Civic, this means an extra 50 cents per
> fill-up. Chump change that adds up to big bucks.
>  
> Susan K
>  
> Gasoline Tax 
> * In most cases, revenues from a gasoline tax are earmarked for local roads
> and public transit. The tax affects both residents and visitors.
> * For every one litre of gasoline sold in Ontario, the provincial government
> collects almost 15 cents.
> * It is estimated that every cent of taxes levied on a litre of gasoline
> raises revenues between $19 million and $28 million. In the GTA, each cent per
> litre would generate annual revenues ranging from $47 million to $53 million.
> * Montreal's Agence Metropolitaine de Transport (AMT) is partially funded by a
> 1.5 cent /litre gas tax (total raised: $47 million).
> * Greater Vancouver's TransLink (Vancouver Regional Transit System) is
> partially funded by a 4 cent/litre gas tax (total raised: $79 million).
> * Public transit in the U.S. is receiving 2.8 cents per gallon (0.7
> cents/litre) from gas taxes to reduce deficits (Transportation Equity Act for
> the 21st Century). It is estimated that American transit systems will receive
> more than $29 billion from gas taxes over the next five years.
> * Different U.S. states collect different tax rates:
> * The state of Michigan collects 19 cents per gallon gas tax and diverts 1.5
> cents to a Comprehensive Transportation Fund.
> * The state of Florida diverts 8.8 cents per gallon to a Transportation Trust
> Fund. 
> * New York State provides subsidies to transit systems based on the Petroleum
> Business Tax. The tax is measured by the quantity of various petroleum
> products refined or sold in the state or imported for sale or use in the
> state. The state collects approximately 10 cents per gallon.
> http://www.canadascities.ca/caoreport_062000.htm#5
>  
> 
> From: executive-bounces at gren.ca [mailto:executive-bounces at gren.ca] On Behalf
> Of Susan Koswan
> Sent: January-05-11 2:04 PM
> To: 'GREN Executive'
> Subject: Re: [GREN-Exec] FW: [Priorities] new Toronto transit report by
> Pembina
>  
> Thanks for sending this John.
>  
> The 25 year experience in Calgary is eye-opening! : Great factoids like this:
> ³The City of Calgary has found that buses are approximately six times as
> costly to operate as LRT² !!!
>  
> I also like that they got money from a provincial gas tax fund. Could the
> Region of Waterloo impose a local gas tax? I¹d certainly be willing to pay
> extra for gas if I knew it was going directly to finance public transit ­ it
> would be the kind of tax shift that the Green Party has been pushing for. We
> have to make it more expensive and more difficult to do the ³wrong² behaviour.
>  
> Still readingŠ
>  
> Susan K 
>  
> 
> From: executive-bounces at gren.ca [mailto:executive-bounces at gren.ca] On Behalf
> Of John Jackson
> Sent: January-05-11 10:16 AM
> To: GREN Executive
> Subject: [GREN-Exec] FW: [Priorities] new Toronto transit report by Pembina
>  
> Thought you might find this report interesting after our discussion last
> night. It is comparing LRT with subways but it still has a lot of useful
> car-LRT comparisons and arguments for LRT.
> 
> 
> John

-- 
John Jackson
17 Major Street
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1
519-744-7503


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