It’s amazing to me how quick governments are to say they can’t do anything about the price of gas. As reported this weekend in the local newspaper:
Fuel tax accounts for 40 per cent of the price of fuel and the province charges 14.5 cents per litre.Since 2001, the provincial fuel tax has increased by 35 per cent.
Now, consider the fact that the average New Brunswick spends between $1,500 and $2,000/year on fuel and you will pretty quickly see that the tax on gas is a major drain on your disposable income and that government have a whole lot they can do about the ‘price of gas’.
Cripes, we all yelled and screamed when our auto insurance rates went up by an average of 25%. Gas taxes are up more than that and we don’t care?
Hmmm.
The provincial government should make at least a good will gesture and freeze its ‘take’ on gas prices back to about the 90 cents a litre level. They were able to live on that last year, why not this year?