Bill Kelly: Lower gasoline prices come with a price

Soon-to-be-premier Doug Ford reiterated Wednesday that one of his first priorities will be to lower gasoline prices by reducing the provincial tax we pay at the pump.

Now, I drive a lot and, and like all motorists, the idea of paying less at the pump is quite appealing, but it comes with a price.

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First of all, reducing the provincial tax will cause a shortfall in revenue of millions of dollars.

Since Ford has also promised a personal tax cut, that further reduces provincial revenue.

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It doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that with less money coming in, and less money to spend, the government would have to cut programs or services. Which begs the obvious question: what programs would be on the chopping block?

Let’s also keep in mind that lower gasoline prices means lower gas tax revenue flowing to the municipal governments for infrastructure and transit.

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That’s likely to mean that your property taxes will have to increase to make up for the shortfall.

That may not be what the new government wants us to hear, but it’s an uncomfortable truth that we need to hear.

Like every other government that comes to power, there is a price to pay for the promises it makes, and, as always, it’s the taxpayers that get the bill.

Bill Kelly is the host of Bill Kelly Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML.