Business advocacy group says Ottawa shouldn’t tax carbon rebates

By The Canadian Press on November 12, 2024.

A person pumps gas at a gas station in Mississauga, Ont., Tuesday, February 13, 2024. A small business advocacy group is re-upping calls to eliminate the carbon tax, after it says the Canada Carbon Rebate for small businesses is a taxable benefit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

OTTAWA – A small business advocacy group is re-upping calls to eliminate the carbon tax, after it says members learned the Canada carbon rebate for small businesses is a taxable benefit.

In a letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland last week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says it’s unfair to Canada’s small firms.

The federation’s president and CEO, Dan Kelly, says the decision to tax the rebates is “deeply offensive to small businesses.”

He also says 83 per cent of the group’s 97,000 members want the carbon tax to be ended.

In a press release Tuesday, CFIB also says the Canada Revenue Agency previously issued an interpretation that the benefit would not be taxable, but the Finance Department had a different interpretation.

The Canadian Press contacted both the CRA and Freeland’s office for comment on Monday, but did not receive a response due to the Remembrance Day statutory holiday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.