Conservatives Announce Used Car Tax Cut
Conservative plan to eliminate GST would save at least $1,835 on the average used car
Ottawa, ON – Today, the Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, and Andrew Lawton, Conservative Member of Parliament for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, announced the Conservative plan to scrap the GST on used cars to reverse Liberal inflation and deliver relief for consumers. Lawton introduced the measure as Private Member’s Bill C-285 – the Used Car Tax Cut Act.
Since 2019, the price of used cars has almost doubled from $18,900 to $36,700 this March. After surging in price, Statistics Canada added used vehicle prices to its Consumer Price Index for the first time in June 2022. That’s on top of the inflation that’s driven the prices of groceries and fuel up, and bank account balances down.
“After pushing home ownership out of reach for a generation of Canadians, Liberal inflation is now stealing the dream of car ownership from youth,” Poilievre said. “Conservatives are fighting to restore affordability here at home, and that includes those shopping for a used car. That’s why we’ll scrap the GST and leave more money in Canadians’ pockets.”
“For people in constituencies like mine and Canadians in rural communities across the country, owning a vehicle is a necessity, not a luxury,” Lawton added. “The government should not be profiting off the unaffordability Canadians are facing. With the price of used cars doubling in just six years, we need immediate tax relief to lower the cost of essential transportation.”
Already, most farm equipment – both new and used – is ‘zero-rated’ under the Excise Tax Act, meaning the GST is not paid on these purchases. Similarly, GST is not levied on resold homes; the Conservative proposal would apply the same principle to cars by amending the Excise Tax Act to ‘zero-rate’ used motor vehicles.
This proposal would save taxpayers $900 million annually, with every Canadian seeing a 5 per cent savings – $1,835 off the average used car purchased from a dealership. If provinces agree to match the policy and eliminate the PST, Canadians could see even bigger savings of up to $5,535, depending on the province.
The policy builds on the existing Conservative plan to save our auto industry by removing the GST on all new Canada-made vehicles, ending the counterproductive Liberal EV mandate and securing a new tariff-free auto pact.
Canadians would also save under the Conservative plan for zero tax on gas for the rest of the year. With gasoline up 28.6 per cent compared to April of last year, and Canadians paying 18 cents more than in the US, scrapping the tax on fuel would save 25 cents a litre, $20 per fill-up and $1,218 for a family of four.
All of these policies would adhere to the Conservative “dollar-for-dollar” by cutting wasteful spending, such as the $90 billion on the Liberal ALTO boondoggle that has failed to build a single metre of track, to save $900 million a year. Conservatives would also cut back on bureaucracy, which is expected to grow by $16.8 billion over the next five years, along with consultants and wasteful foreign aid.
“For the teen looking to buy their first car, Conservatives will put them in the driver’s seat by making it more affordable to buy their first set of keys,” Poilievre concluded. “By lowering the cost of government, we’ll lower the cost of living to leave more money in Canadians’ pockets and more fuel in the tank so they can enjoy their drive.”