Fraser Institute News Release: Ottawa’s carbon tax—fix it or scrap it: duelling essays make the case for and against

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With the federal carbon tax set to rise from $65 to $80 per tonne on April 1, two new essays—published today by the Fraser Institute—make two opposing arguments, to retain the tax (after fixing it) and to scrap the tax.

According to the first essay, Reforming the Federal Government's Carbon Tax Plan, the government should reform the tax to mitigate its negative economic impacts so the tax simply replaces—and doesn’t add to—other government regulations and mandates meant to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Also, the carbon tax should be “revenue neutral”—that is, the tax should generate no new net revenue for the government. Currently, only 90 per cent of carbon tax revenue is rebated to taxpayers.

“If implemented correctly, a carbon tax can be the most economically efficient way to reduce GHG emissions, so fixing Ottawa’s carbon tax is preferable to other, more costly measures such as increased regulations and subsidies,” said Ross McKitrick, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and essay co-author.

According to the second essay, Carbon Tax Is Beyond Redemption, the federal government should eliminate the carbon tax because real-world examples show that governments both in Canada and Europe have failed to implement sound, well-designed carbon taxes. Most are not revenue neutral, not imposed uniformly among industries, and remain layered on top of other costly regulations and mandates, negating the theoretical benefits of the tax.

“The lessons from Canada and beyond are clear—carbon taxes may work in theory, but no government has successfully implemented a properly designed carbon tax,” said Kenneth Green, essay author and senior fellow at the Fraser Institute.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kenneth Green, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

Ross McKitrick, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:
Drue MacPherson, Media Relations, Fraser Institute
604-688-0221 ext. 721
[email protected]

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Like us on Facebook

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org