P.E.I. finance minister reveals $10 million carbon levy error in budget
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — P.E.I.’s Finance Minister Darlene Compton says a spreadsheet error resulted within the province’s official price range guide projecting carbon levy revenues this yr to be virtually $10 million too excessive.
Following query interval on March 30, Compton tabled a doc she known as a “minor administrative correction” to the province’s price range estimates guide.
The doc was a correction of a web page displaying the province’s income from taxes, licences and permits, initially launched within the province’s February 2022 price range. The unique guide confirmed forecasted 2021-22 income from carbon taxes at $29 million, whereas the corrected web page confirmed the forecasted income at $19.4 million.
The corrected web page confirmed different income estimates for well being taxes on tobacco, gasoline tax and well being taxes on liquor with greenback values that had been both tens of millions of {dollars} above or beneath the unique estimates. The general totals for estimated income for 2021-22 remained unchanged between the unique and corrected web page.
“Workers in my division have confirmed that a number of values for revenues for the present fiscal yr 2021-22 on web page 15 had been misallocated and introduced on the fallacious traces,” Compton informed the legislature. “This was attributable to an administrative difficulty with a spreadsheet that was not linked to the correct columns once they had been resorted earlier than printing.”
An official from the Premier’s Workplace confirmed the 4 line objects for carbon levy, well being taxes on tobacco, gasoline tax and well being taxes on liquor had been included within the authentic price range however had been listed on the wrong line. The identical error was true for estimates of income from constructing allow functions, insurance coverage, water testing and the Firms Act.
The tabling of the correction adopted a query from Liberal interim chief Sonny Gallant in query interval. Gallant questioned why the province’s price range confirmed a rise of 9 per cent in carbon levy income when the levy was attributable to enhance by 67 per cent.
“Minister, did you overlook that you’re planning on growing this levy on the backs of Islanders whenever you wrote the price range, or are you making an attempt to persuade everybody that 67 per cent equals 9?” Gallant requested.
Compton responded that she can be tabling the corrections. She additionally deflected Gallant’s query, noting that the carbon levy is being elevated attributable to a choice by the Trudeau-led federal authorities.
“We’re obligated to make sure that we meet with the parameters that the federal authorities have put in place. We’re a pacesetter in inexperienced expertise and carbon discount,” she stated.
Debate on the 2022 price range is anticipated to proceed.
Stu Neatby is a political reporter with the SaltWire Community in Prince Edward Island.
