PENHOLD - The recently introduced carbon tax may soon bring some pain to the town, says Mayor Dennis Cooper.
The carbon tax was introduced in the province on Jan. 1, 2017.
"Yes, we have power, natural gas, propane and different types of fuels, but because of the carbon tax it's going to hit us in so many different ways," said Cooper. "At our facility, we're struggling to try and keep it as efficient as possible, but we're going to lose a certain amount of efficiency because of the carbon tax."
Emitting carbon is not the problem, said the mayor, but burdening the taxpayer is one concern he has.
"The taxpayer should be really looked at and considered, because it puts a tax on a tax," he said, pointing to the GST on top of the new carbon tax. "We have a tax on a tax and it's forcing us to tax because it all flows down (to the residents).
Cooper said the town did make adjustments for the carbon tax in this year's budget.
"We made an allowance in this year's budget for the carbon tax in a number of different areas," said Cooper. "That's why we said we're going to hold the taxes, and why we're going to try and lower the taxes for our residents.
"The government has to look at the fact that it's going to hurt municipalities and it's going to drive up costs. If it drives up costs for municipalities, we only have one payer and that's the taxpayer."
He also noted the difficulty facing rural areas.
"In the rural areas we can't walk or take a bus; we don't have that luxury. They need to adjust what they are doing for the area of Alberta that they're dealing with," explained Cooper.
The mayor agrees that carbon dioxide is an issue and understands the government's desire to impact climate change, but he does not agree with its approach.
"We have to take a look at how this tax is going to be applied fairly. Even though they're giving money back in rebates, that doesn't help when we have to add onto (people's) property tax.
"We understand that they're asking all Albertans to take the stand (against climate change), but a citizen of a municipality has to take it on the chin and then the municipality gets them again, so they get it twice," Cooper concluded.
Dennis Cooper
"The government has to look at the fact that it's going to hurt municipalities and it's going to drive up costs. If it drives up costs for municipalities, we only have one payer and that's the taxpayer."
