What about electric cars?
Maybe we could lower the gas tax. But should we increase the electricity tax to charge electric cars? Because their owners do not pay their share of this tax which goes to public transport, and which ensures the maintenance of the highways.
Marcel St-Jean
A magical effect
In my opinion, increasing the price of gasoline would be the best thing that could happen. Seeing the vehicles on our roads shows us that the price of gasoline is much too low. About forty years ago, I owned a car that consumed 5 liters per 100 kilometers. Today it’s almost impossible to find such an economical gasoline car. Imagine for a moment gasoline at $5 per liter: solo cars would be almost non-existent, pick-up enthusiasts would disappear as if by magic, the roads would be more peaceful, there would be fewer accidents…
Stéphane Bernier
Think about people outside the cities
I don’t understand the insistence on taxing gasoline, and wanting to promote electric vehicles so much… Let’s not forget that taxing gasoline has a direct cost on the products, and the entire system suffers the repercussions. . It is very unfair to make rural people, who have no public transport service, pay for this service for urban residents. […] Please, we rural people do not have to pay for services that we rarely or never use.
Marcel Lambert
A luxury product
The tax must be increased. Gasoline is a luxury product and not an essential good. Cities should be planned differently to be able to do everything within a few minutes’ walk without a car, but also without public transport. But as the article says, politicians who say the real things have a hard time…I expect to have rocks thrown at me for my opinion! An opinion that will eventually become a reality as oil becomes more and more expensive to extract, lowering the prosperity of the population […].
Joëlle Clermont
Food, electricity, transportation…
We must lower all taxes, starting with those on food and electricity, which are essential things. At the very least, I would be OK with a 5% tax. For gasoline, I would cut a good part of it, because electric vehicles and bicycles are absolutely not doing their part: we are taxed far too much with our cars. I will never understand that those who take public transport absolutely have to get it for peanuts !
Joel Guénette
Significant changes
Transportation remains a significant source of GHG emissions. There is an urgent need to reduce the carbon footprint of gasoline vehicles to try to minimize the severity of the climate crisis. This objective requires sometimes painful changes in our behavior and lifestyle habits. Significantly increasing the gas tax could be a restrictive tool to accelerate the green energy transition and promote public or active transportation. However, we could find relief formulas for farmers, fishermen, transporters of essential goods, taxis and home care providers […].
Jean Crevier
Impoverishing
According to you ? I serve food to the homeless and for two years, it’s no longer just them, it’s families who are being devastated by the rising price of gasoline and which is driving up the price of everything we consume. such as the grocery store. Our servants must stop impoverishing the population with taxes, whether on gasoline or on goods and services. There are plenty of unnecessary programs and subsidies to eliminate (which always enrich the same people) in order to relieve tax payers […].
Bernard Stevens
A big tax for large vehicles
Raise. There are already too many vehicles on the roads. Furthermore, the high price of gasoline does not prevent happy idiots from Quebec from buying the biggest vehicles possible. When will the prohibitive taxation of these pedestrian-killing vehicles be imposed? Never: it’s not good for business.
Alain Ratelle
Always more taxes
Lower ! Why is the only solution for governments to raise taxes? Meanwhile, take my full paycheck and return whatever you think is enough! We have become so taxed! I’m afraid of the exodus of the richest!
Xavier Beaulac
Equity
The first thing to do, before increasing the gas tax, would be to add the equivalent tax to electric cars which are heavier and more damaging to the roads. Question of fairness for all.
Daniel Bergeron
For work and family
In my case, I would prefer a reduction, because my work requires me to drive a lot of kilometers per year and we only have one car for the family.
Dan Lajoie
The good and the bad
We should raise the gas tax to make up for our huge deficit and reduce GHG emissions. On the other hand, good luck getting elected if you say that…
Francois Boudreau
For brevity and clarity, responses have been edited.
Read the article “Cost of gasoline: the floor price in the rearview mirror”