Carbon Tax Debate - Canadian Federation of Taxpayers Speech：碳税的辩论-加拿大纳税人联盟的演讲.docx

B.C.’S CARBON TAX – A FAILED EXPERIMENTADDRESS TO THE SURREY BOARD OF TRADESEPTEMBER 13, 2012BY JORDAN BATEMAN, B.C. DIRECTOR – CANADIAN TAXPAYERS FEDERATIONThank you for this opportunity.The other night, I was reciting the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumptyto my two year old son, when it hit me. Humpty Dumpty is the perfect allegory for the B.C. carbon tax. You all know the rhyme:Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.All the kings horses and all the kings menCouldnt put Humpty together again.The carbon tax is a failed social and economic experiment—and all the fixes in the world won’t put this Humpty Dumpty public policy together again. I can list all sorts of reasons from a provincial perspective as to why this carbon tax doesn’t work—it’s an unfair shift onto rural and suburban taxpayers; it’s revenue neutral for government but anything but for taxpayers; it doesn’t tax or punish your emissions, only your fuel intake; it raises the cost of every good and service moved anywhere in this province; it was meant to tie into a cap and trade scheme which never materialized;it is especially onerous on lower income people. That’s called a regressive tax.But we’re here today to talk about business in Surrey. I live next door in Langley—was a Township Councillor there for five years before moving to this role—so I feel like I have a front row, balcony seat to the tremendous growth that’s happening here. It really is amazing, and you, your community, council and, of course, Mayor Watts, deserve congratulations. It has certainly been a boost to Langley, like a favorable wind pushing my community’s growth along.The carbon tax, however, has been bad for Surrey’s economy. It is hurting your ability to compete with businesses located minutes away across the US border. It is costing you more money to run your business. And this pain isn’t paying off—the carbon tax isn’t accomplishing its goal.None of this is news to you. You pay your bills. You see your vehicle fuel