Quote:
Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout
The messaging here in Nova Scotia is not that Carbon Tax is bad per say, but that it shouldn't be on home heating oil.
Here's the thing. In principle I don't disagree.
If you want homes to stop heating with oil then new builds should be banned from using heating oil.
Have incentives to replace oil tanks/furnaces.
If a tank or furnace needs to be replaced there should be a program that renders it cost effective to switch to Heat pump/electric or whatever.
If you're a senior who always had oil, and are on a limited income switching could be cost prohibitive. But having heat in February is a necessity. So is taxing their home heating oil going to reduce consumption? Likely not.
If it's not going to reduce carbon emissions, and it's going to hurt low income Canadians, then I'm ok with the exception.
That said, I don't actually know about all this stuff. My stance is 100% open to change.
|
Home heating oil is the exact commodity you want to tax. It is where you have the largest affect. You have a lower cost substitute with a barrier to entry. You make the cost of heating oil so uncomfortable that people upgrade before the end of life of their boiler.
The whole point of the Carbon tax is brutal efficiency not caring about income. For these seniors eventually there will be businesses offering low cost loans and free heat pumps because the savings are so high.
Also using seniors is a cop out. There are many supports available for low income seniors. In fact seniors have the lowest rates of poverty of any demographic in Canada. You can throw out the whole program because a small portion of people is negatively affected. You could choose to subsidize them more.