HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s finance minister has said his government will not use proceeds from fuel taxes to mitigate the impact of Ottawa’s carbon pricing program.
Alan McMaster says all taxes collected from fuel (including the 15.5 cents per liter added to the price of gasoline) go to repairing state roads, and that will not change. says.
MacMaster’s comments today are a response to Ottawa’s announcement earlier this week to impose a federal carbon price on three of the four Atlantic states by July, including Nova Scotia.
The minister suggested earlier this month that Ottawa had banned any move to cut state taxes, but federal officials have since said that was not the case.
MacMaster said his government favors targeted assistance and is now considering expanding rebates for heating assistance.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tim Houston said his state is questioning the formula the federal government uses to calculate the carbon price rebate given to Nova Scotians, saying the $248 quarterly payment is enough. He added that it was not expensive.
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