M II A II R II K
Senior Member
Mayors propose gas tax to fund transit line
Jul. 06, 2011
By WENDY STUECK
Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-gas-tax-to-fund-transit-line/article2088944/
Metro Vancouver mayors have proposed a two-cents-a-litre fuel tax to pay for the long-delayed Evergreen Line, a $1.4-billion SkyTrain project that has been stalled for years as governments try to figure out how to help pay for it. The fuel tax is part of a proposed funding formula announced Wednesday and designed to generate an additional $70-million per year for transportation authority TransLink, which has an annual budget of about $1.1-billion. Along with the fuel tax, the proposal includes potential property-tax increases or – the mayors’ preferred option – a new long-term revenue source that could involve a vehicle levy or some form of “road pricing†such as tolls.
- Regional mayors have for years insisted they need another tool other than property taxes to pay for the transit needs of a growing population. Late last year, the mayors refused to pass a supplementary budget that included a property-tax hike, saying they needed the province to commit to another source of funds. In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Lekstrom thanked the mayors’ council “for their hard work in coming up with a plan to fund their share of the Evergreen Line and other transportation projects.â€
- The provincial and federal government have each committed about $400-million to the Evergreen Line, an 11-kilometre connection between Coquitlam and Burnaby that has been on the drawing board since the 1990s. The proposed fuel tax is expected to account for between $40-million and $43-million a year, with the rest of the targeted $70-million coming from other measures, including a potential vehicle levy. Such a levy, or so-called transportation-improvement fee, would likely be based on factors such as the size of a vehicle, its fuel economy or distances travelled, Ms. Goldsmith-Jones said.
- The mayors’ proposal, called “Moving Forward†aims to pay for other improvements, including additional SeaBus sailings, express bus service south of the Fraser and SkyTrain and SeaBus station upgrades. An additional fuel tax – proposed as the provincial government is fighting to keep the Harmonized Sales Tax it introduced last year – could be a tough sell to the public, Ms. Goldsmith-Jones conceded. The proposed funding formula is subject to public consultation and would go to the mayors’ council for a vote this fall. If approved, the fuel-tax increase would be implemented in April of 2012.
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Jul. 06, 2011
By WENDY STUECK
Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-gas-tax-to-fund-transit-line/article2088944/
Metro Vancouver mayors have proposed a two-cents-a-litre fuel tax to pay for the long-delayed Evergreen Line, a $1.4-billion SkyTrain project that has been stalled for years as governments try to figure out how to help pay for it. The fuel tax is part of a proposed funding formula announced Wednesday and designed to generate an additional $70-million per year for transportation authority TransLink, which has an annual budget of about $1.1-billion. Along with the fuel tax, the proposal includes potential property-tax increases or – the mayors’ preferred option – a new long-term revenue source that could involve a vehicle levy or some form of “road pricing†such as tolls.
- Regional mayors have for years insisted they need another tool other than property taxes to pay for the transit needs of a growing population. Late last year, the mayors refused to pass a supplementary budget that included a property-tax hike, saying they needed the province to commit to another source of funds. In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Lekstrom thanked the mayors’ council “for their hard work in coming up with a plan to fund their share of the Evergreen Line and other transportation projects.â€
- The provincial and federal government have each committed about $400-million to the Evergreen Line, an 11-kilometre connection between Coquitlam and Burnaby that has been on the drawing board since the 1990s. The proposed fuel tax is expected to account for between $40-million and $43-million a year, with the rest of the targeted $70-million coming from other measures, including a potential vehicle levy. Such a levy, or so-called transportation-improvement fee, would likely be based on factors such as the size of a vehicle, its fuel economy or distances travelled, Ms. Goldsmith-Jones said.
- The mayors’ proposal, called “Moving Forward†aims to pay for other improvements, including additional SeaBus sailings, express bus service south of the Fraser and SkyTrain and SeaBus station upgrades. An additional fuel tax – proposed as the provincial government is fighting to keep the Harmonized Sales Tax it introduced last year – could be a tough sell to the public, Ms. Goldsmith-Jones conceded. The proposed funding formula is subject to public consultation and would go to the mayors’ council for a vote this fall. If approved, the fuel-tax increase would be implemented in April of 2012.
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