The PBO predicts a smaller deficit for 2017-18 than it predicted in October, mostly due to spending delays in the government’s infrastructure program. The report assumes provincial governments will offer rebates to households in the form of lump-sum payments, like Alberta did with a portion of the revenue from its own carbon tax. The carbon tax pushes the price of some products up and, because GST is a percentage of that price, the sales tax also increases. It’s an inconvenient report for the Liberal government because it shows how much the federal purse is benefitting, not from the carbon tax, but from the GST on top of the carbon tax. The PBO estimates this could take $160 million out of the government’s cannabis revenues by 2022-23.

Source: National Post April 30, 2018 18:45 UTC