Liberals call on P.E.I. government to axe the tire tax

The Opposition Liberals say a tax that pays for tires to be recycled off-Island is no longer needed because the work is being done on P.E.I.

Interim Liberal Leader Sonny Gallant said he noticed the tax after he purchased new tires himself.

The charge is $4 per new tire with a rim size of 17 inches or less, and $11.25 per tire with a rim size greater than that.

"Why are we still charging the tax?" said Gallant.

This spring, the province stopped sending tires off-Island for shredding.

In the past, these tires were picked up, trucked to Quebec and shredded, which cost the province between $1.2-$1.4 million annually.

Now, a local business picks up and shreds the tires.

Finance Minister Darlene Compton said the program shredding tires on the Island is a pilot project. She wants to make sure it's viable before she'll look at dropping the tax. 

Compton said she'd like to see the program operate for the next year or so. 

"The taxes that we charge go back into government programs and services and we want to ensure that the tires that are on the road are looked after when it's time for them to be put aside," Compton said from the floor of the P.E.I. Legislature Tuesday.

"We will definitely take into consideration the tax being paid by Islanders."

The province said it is not only saving money on the pickup and shredding of tires, it is also saving money on the finished product.

Transportation Minister Steven Myers said the province purchases those shredded tires to help build new roads.

The shredded tires replace class D gravel, the gravel used for the base of new roads.

"I think it's 60 per cent cheaper than gravel, notwithstanding the fact that we don't import it either," Myers said in June.

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