Quote:
Originally Posted by Whynotnow
Well they will pay the carbon tax and then get the refund, which seems pretty inefficient. In the meantime they are still paying the gst on that tax. Yes they get a gst refund too, just not sure why it all need to be that way.
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This is incorrect. You get the refund first, THEN the tax comes in. For example, we are all going to get an increased rebate amount on April 15, even though the tax only increases on April 1. The rebate would cover April 1 to July 1, meaning the rebates comes in before 85% of the actual spend.
As to your question as to why it has to be this way, rebates are an accepted way to turn a generally regressive tax policy (which appears to be your concern) into one where it's progressive - especially when the rebates are universal like the carbon tax rebate.