the carbon tax was introduced in canada on january 1, 1991.
when was the carbon tax introduced in canada?
january 1, 1991
on february 19, 2008, the province of british columbia announced its intention to implement a carbon tax of $10 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (coe) emissions (2.41 cents per litre on gasoline) beginning july 1, 2008, making bc the first north american jurisdiction to implement such a tax. the tax will increase each year after until 2012, reaching a final price of $30 per tonne (7.2 cents per litre at the pumps). unlike previous proposals, legislation will keep the pending carbon tax revenue neutral by reducing corporate and income taxes at an equivalent rate. also, the government will also reduce taxes above and beyond the carbon tax offset by $481 million over three years. in january 2010, the carbon tax was applied to biodiesel. before the tax actually went into effect, the government of british columbia sent out "rebate cheques" from expected revenues to all residents of british columbia as of december 31, 2007. in january 2013, the carbon tax was collecting about $1 billion each year which was used to lower other taxes in british columbia. terry lake, the minister of the environment of british columbia, said ""it makes sense, it's simple, it's well accepted.""
carbon tax
in his maclean's 2015 article, economist trevor tombe wrote that "[p]ricing carbon is one of the most sensible policy prescriptions to address greenhouse gas emissions". tombe listed the advantages and disadvantages. the carbon tax provides a "new source of revenue for the government". the tax is a "far more efficient means of lowering greenhouse gas emissions than regulatory approaches." as part of the process of researching and implementing the carbon tax, the alberta government worked with a panel chaired by university of alberta economist andrew leach to study a carbon tax based on "sensible, evidence-based policy advice", which tombe described as "a model for other jurisdictions". the price of the carbon tax began at $20 a tonne in 2017, rose to $30 a ton in 2018 and was tied to a 2% increase based on rising inflation, which tombe considered to be "reasonable". tombe estimated the impact of the carbon tax on the 3 "most carbon-intensive consumer purchases". he estimated an increase in the price of gasoline of c. 6.7 cents per litre when the $30 a tonne tax came into effect. natural gas prices would increase by about $1.50 per gj. "[l]ow to middle-income households" would "receive compensation".
carbon pricing in canada