TAX NEWS - JUNE 2010

Canada Tax: Congestion Tax For Ontario

02 June 2010 -- Ontario state in Canada needs to start taxing motorists for using its road, it has been claimed. The province`s environmental commissioner, Gord Miller, said implementing tolls would reduce the number of carbon emissions produced, particularly in the state capital Toronto. Mr Miller said the scheme would be modelled on the Congestion Charge scheme in London, which charges drivers a daily fee as tax to travel on the Ontario roads. He said if a tax were imposed, it would encourage people to use public transport or alternative travel methods, such as cycling.

Carbon emissions from transport are a major contributor to the CO2 in Canada, according to the commissioner, who was writing in his annual report on greenhouse gas emissions. Congestion and traffic is a big concern in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), where commuting by car has reached full capacity.`We have to face up to the fact that the roads in the GTA are plugged and millions more people are coming,` he added.