Our carbon tax dollars are going up in smoke!

Where does it end?

Government has returned only 0.17% of the carbon tax to small businesses!

  2019—2024 2024—2025
Carbon tax revenue $32 BILLION $13 BILLION
Promised rebate for SMEs $2.5 BILLION $623 MILLION
To be returned to businesses each year 9% 5%
Amount delivered to businesses ALMOST ZERO ??

Budget 2024 offers some relief

Quotation mark

Budget 2024 proposes to urgently return fuel charge proceeds from 2019-20 through 2023-24 to an estimated 600,000 businesses, with 499 or fewer employees through a new refundable tax credit. This would deliver over $2.5 billion directly to Canada’s small- and medium-sized businesses. Quotation mark
— Quote from the Federal Budget 2024

Thanks to CFIB, the government finally took the hint.
BUT THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER!

The government increased the tax on April 1, 2024 and is cutting the small business return in half!

82% of small businesses still oppose the federal carbon tax plan (up from 52% in 2022).

2024-04-carbon-tax-petition-increase-en

Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance

CC: My Member of Parliament

Small businesses care about the environment, but your carbon tax is failing us. Your government has collected billions from small businesses and has rebated next to nothing, despite promising to return 9%. If that wasn’t enough, you’re planning to further cut the rebate amount in half before returning a penny. Why should my small business pay for bigger consumer rebates?

The next election will decide the future of the carbon tax but in the meantime, it is critical to return the $2.5 billion you promised to small businesses NOW!

The cost of everything is up. My revenues can’t keep pace and I can’t keep raising prices on my customers. It’s no wonder that 82% of small businesses now oppose the federal carbon tax.

I am asking you to:

  • Immediately return the $2.5 billion owed to ALL small businesses, not just certain sectors.
  • Scrap the plan to reduce the SME share of carbon tax revenue from 9% to 5% in 2024 and rebate it annually.
  • Ensure SMEs get rebates equivalent to their share of the fuel charge (CFIB estimates 40%).
  • Pass Bill C-234 as originally proposed to exempt natural gas and propane used for on-farm activities, including grain drying and heating farm buildings.
  • Freeze the carbon tax at its current level.
  • Exempt all heating fuels, including natural gas.
CFIB logo

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings.