Alberta to re-instate portion of provincial fuel tax in October

Albertans are going to pay more for gasoline and diesel fuel starting Oct. 1 as the province re-introduces a portion of the provincial fuel tax.

The fuel tax relief program paused the taxes that would have been collected from Albertans and started on April 1.

People saw tax savings for both gasoline and diesel fuel at 13 cents per litre.

However, the province has cut the savings down to 8.5 cents per litre with a 4.5 cent per litre provincial fuel tax, according to a statement from the finance minister.

“Earlier this year, Alberta’s government introduced the fuel tax relief program to help Albertans deal with higher fuel costs. The program continues to provide fuel tax savings as long as the average price of [West Texas intermidiate] (WTI) is above U.S. $79.99 per barrel,” said finance minister Jason Nixon.

Nixon says in the first six months of the program, Albertans saved $630 million in fuel tax relief.

He says that WTI prices over a four-week period ending on Sept. 15 were $89.26 per barrel, and adds that Albertans are paying “the lowest gas prices in the country.”

The minister says Albertans will save around $200 million over the next three months despite going back to paying a portion of the provincial fuel tax.

He says that Alberta will remain with “the lowest provincial fuel tax in the country,” at 4.5 cents per litre.

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“As Albertans continue to deal with inflation and high costs, Alberta’s government will continue to provide some of the most generous measures in the country to keep more money in the pockets of Albertans,” Nixon said.

He says the province has provided $2 billion in relief to help fight inflation, adding that the federal government should do more.

“We strongly encourage the federal government to follow our lead and reduce the federal fuel tax and carbon tax to provide more relief to Canadians,” Nixon said.

The province says they will provide another program update in December.