We want our money back!

Fix the federal carbon tax before New Brunswick gets hit!

The federal carbon tax is FAILING small- and medium-sized business. It NEEDS TO BE FIXED before it is imposed in New Brunswick.

CFIB estimates that $22 billion will have been collected by 2023 where the Federal Carbon Tax was imposed.

Images shows dollar amounts from $0 to $22bn on a line (separated into $5bn segments) explaining that Ottawa has only returned $35 million or 0.16% to businesses of this $22 billion collected since 2019.
  • No program exists.
  • No tax is being returned.
The Globe and Mail article from April 1st "The delay in rolling out federal carbon grants is part of a larger pattern of lagging supports for small and medium-sized businesses" (Promised federal carbon grants to small- and medium-sized businesses are stuck in limbo)

Costs continue to go up, we NEED our money back!

Fuel and energy are the top cost constraints causing difficulties for small- and medium-sized business. Inflation continues to add pressure across the ledger.

With New Brunswick business still holding an average of $93,733 in pandemic debt, the federal carbon tax collected needs to be returned and made available in a timely way to New Brunswick businesses.

  • Ottawa can’t keep this tax.
  • Businesses need it to invest in their own carbon reduction initiatives.
Doughnut chart showing how much tax businesses should pay if gasoline in New Brunswick is subjected to the Federal Carbon Tax in 2023

Minister Steven Guilbeault and Premier Blaine Higgs

CC: My Member of Parliament

I should not be expected to pay into an unequal system that provides households with more than they pay in a carbon tax, while my business is left waiting to receive its promised share.

Ottawa can’t keep this tax.

It needs to return it to New Brunswick small- and medium-sized business owners in a timely manner, through programs or by reducing other taxes paid by businesses.

All I’m asking is that the Canadian and New Brunswick governments work together and make sure the new carbon tax is fair for my business by being revenue neutral like it is for households.

  • Fix the federal carbon tax backstop before it is introduced in New Brunswick.
  • Make sure my business receives just as much in rebates as it pays in carbon tax.
  • Freeze the planned carbon backstop increases and temporarily reduce the federal fuel excise tax to provide some relief from inflationary pressures.
CFIB

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.