François Legault is on the wrong track when he says that the Parti Québécois (PQ) is proposing a gas tax, supports PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. “It comes out of nowhere,” he said Monday, from Sept-Îles.
“I didn’t understand what happened,” he continued, referring to last Thursday’s debate on TVA. The leader of the Coalition avenir Québec, François Legault, then criticized the PQ team for wanting to “put a surcharge on gasoline”. “How much are you talking about?” Thirty cents a litre, a dollar a litre? he asked Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
In fact, the PQ program does not include a tax at the pump. However, he plans to tax the “surplus profits” of the oil industry. This proposal, which was found in the financial framework of the PQ, was detailed Monday by Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon and his candidate in Duplessis, Marilou Vanier.
In practice, the independence party wants to tax up to 25% the “surplus profits” of the oil companies, which according to Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon “literally take [les] Quebecers held hostage”.
What is a “surplus”? “It’s about taking the best six months in ten years and comparing it to the second best six months in ten years. You can see that this is a very, very careful and conservative calculation,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, Monday, in front of the Imperial Oil reservoirs in Sept-Îles.
In doing so, the PQ intends to recover sums of “approximately one billion dollars” annually, which would be used to finance the improvement of the solidarity tax credit included in its program. “I do not exclude that it is more profitable,” said the leader of the PQ.
“PSPP” ensures that in no case, its tax on “surplus profits” would be transposed on the consumer’s bill. “You have to understand that we are adding a Quebec competition office with teeth. You are going to see prices drop,” he said.