Agreed.
Debates of Feb. 4th, 1998
Topics
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Some Hon. Members
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Agreed. Thank you. Mr. Krutko. Thank you. Again, I repeat total operations and maintenance is $1.007 million. Do we agree?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Treasury on page 3-7, operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance is $6.327 million. Agreed?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Page 3-8, fiscal policy, operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance is $701,000. Agreed?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Mr. Steen.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Vince Steen Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, my questions are in regard to policies governing taxation and, in particular, what it is used for. Mr. Chairman, I think everybody is aware that for many years there has been concern expressed by the public that a tax identified, for instance fuel tax, tobacco tax and whatever, the government in turn does not use the specific revenue for the purpose it was taxed. In this particular situation I am referring to fuel tax. I understand the fuel tax, and the Minister can correct me if I am wrong, but it applies to highway fuel tax. Is that correct?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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John Todd Keewatin Central
My colleagues advise me that the fuel taxes are for diesel, gas, aviation fuel, et cetera.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Steen.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Vince Steen Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, how much of this fuel tax is actually directed back into maintenance and repair of highways?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Todd.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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John Todd Keewatin Central
Like all taxes, whether it is a sin tax or known as sin taxes, these taxes and fuel taxes all go into general revenues and are reallocated. They all go into general revenue and are added to the overall fiscal pot of the government and redistributed by budgets, et cetera. We do not take the fuel tax and specifically allocate it to the maintenance of the highways or the building of new highways. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Steen.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Vince Steen Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In that case, then, why do we call it a fuel tax? Why do we not just raise the income tax or raise other taxes? If we are going to apply it to fuel and only on highways, I do not understand the purpose of it. Why is it called a fuel tax if it is not used for the purpose of maintenance of highways?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Todd.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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John Todd Keewatin Central
Because we tax fuel and it is used in terms of generating revenues for this government in its overall budget projections. It has been there for as long as I can remember. It is a fuel tax. It is like we have a liquor tax, a cigarette tax or personal income tax. It is a choice of the government where it puts its taxes. It could remove all these taxes and put on personal income tax, I suppose. That would be an alternative. We want to ensure that the consumer who consumes more of the product pays the taxes. That is one way to put it. Certainly it would be that way with the cigarette and liquor taxes. There is no deep philosophical reason for one tax versus another. It is just the overall tax. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Steen.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Vince Steen Nunakput
Mr. Chairman, is the Minister then saying that the public is under the wrong impression that because fuel tax is taxed as fuel, it is not necessarily true that particular amount of money paid is necessarily going to be used to repair the potholes that he is experiencing while he is driving down the road. Therefore, it is identified by commodity rather than for purpose. Is that correct?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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John Todd Keewatin Central
My deputy minister, Ms. Melhorn, advises me that we generate about $16 million in fuel tax. I am not sure what the dollar value is in terms of actual investment in new roads and repair of the roads but I know that the Department of Transportation's budget is somewhere in the region of about $86 to $90 million on an annual basis. I do not know, off the top of my head, how it is divided up but Mr. Antoine could probably give me a ballpark figure of what we put back in the highways and roads. We generate $16 million which we then put into general revenues which are then calculated in our overall fiscal framework and then is redistributed, as other taxes are, through the envelope system. At the end of the day, the fuel tax is not necessarily specific for reinvestment in the roads as Mr. Steen is suggesting. He is correct. The people are correct.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Steen, Mr. Todd has implied that if you want more detail Mr. Antoine, the Minister of Transportation, could provide you with that. Mr. Steen.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Vince Steen Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will do that. My second question is dealing with comments made by the Minister about corporate taxing and possibly taxing the diamond industry. I have heard in the past, the Minister said in this House, I believe, that he intends to bring in a tax that would choke a mule, if I remember correctly, if the diamond industry did not respond favourable to the government's concerns. Considering that this is the last budget of this Assembly, if there is no opportunity to choke that mule in here when are you going to be able to do it in the future, Mr. Minister?