Earlier this month the Saskatchewan provincial government announced in their 2021/2022 budget a new tax on electric vehicles (EVs).
Set to take effect in October 2021, the government said the new $150 tax was being introduced for “tax fairness” to ensure EV drivers pay for road maintenance that would otherwise be paid for by the fuel tax.
The problem with the tax is that Saskatchewan has one of the lowest rates of EV adoption in Canada with just 403 EVs on the road today. The ~$60,000 in extra revenue would barely make a dent in the $616 million the province spent on road maintenance in 2020.
Adding to the concerns is the lack of a provincially funded fast charging network in Saskatchewan.
Despite the protests of EV owners in Saskatchewan, as well as urging from Ottawa to rethink the tax, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has forged ahead.
Now SaskEV is asking for your help. The group has started a petition calling on the government to halt the tax and instead introduce policies to accelerate EV adoption.
“We call on the provincial government to delay their proposed tax on electric vehicles until October, 2023 with an intention to review the policy six months prior to that date. Further, the province should direct SaskPower to commit $2Mn per year, $10Mn over the next 5 years on EV fast charging infrastructure in our province.”
You can sign the petition here.
