$116 Million Spent on Carbon Tax Paperwork Since 2019, Federal Records Show

A woman fills up her vehicle with gas in Toronto, on April 1, 2019. The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov

The Canada Revenue Agency has spent more than $116 million on paperwork related to the carbon tax since 2019, after the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act received royal assent in 2018 and came into effect a year later.

Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier told the House of Commons in a recently-tabled Inquiry of Ministry that $116.53 million has been spent since 2019, and 333 staff are now assigned to collect fuel charge and process rebates, after the numbers were requested by Conservative MP Chris Warkentin, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

Warkentin asked: “What are the annual costs to administer the collection of the carbon tax and rebate program, and how many employees or full-time equivalents are assigned to work on the collection of the carbon tax and rebate program?”

The costs of collecting carbon tax amounted to $100.73 million—with $25.27 million collected in 2019-20, $37.04 million in 2020-21, and $38.41 million in 2021-22. Slightly over 300 full-time equivalents were tasked to collect the fuel charges during the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Another 33 staff were assigned to process rebates in the latest fiscal year to offset a portion of costs for home heating, commuting and other expenses. Operational costs in administering the rebate program totalled $15.8 million—with $7.95 million incurred in 2019-20, and $3.5 million and $4.36 million, in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively.

‘Net Loss’

Rebates were paid to four provinces last year, namely Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Effectively July 1, 2023, the program will be extended to residents of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland maintained that most households receive more in rebates than they pay in carbon tax.

“What is important about the price on pollution in Canada is that all the revenue is returned to Canadians,” she said in a news release on Nov. 22.

“Eight out of 10 Canadian households who receive Climate Action Incentive payments get more money back in their bank accounts than the price on pollution costs them. And these regular payments particularly benefit lower-income households.”

A report released by the Parliamentary Budget Office on March 24 has a different take. It argued that “most households will see a net loss” from federal carbon pricing in 2030-31.

“When the economic impact is combined with the fiscal impact, the net carbon cost increases for all households, reflecting the overall negative economic impact of the federal carbon levy,” said the report, titled “A Distributional Analysis Of Federal Carbon Pricing Under A Healthy Environment and A Healthy Economy.”

The report estimated that by 2030-31, the net loss per household on average would range from $1,000 to over $2,000 in these provinces: Manitoba ($1,145), Ontario ($1,461), Saskatchewan ($1,464) and Alberta ($2,282).