So now GST dropped...

[ToniCipriani]

But why the F is gas still so f'ing expensive?

$1.037???!!!



Thank goodness I don't really need my car for the next few months...

[LZ's GTP]

cause it's the holidays and they want to milk us for every last penny It's around 3 a gallon here.....

[PDRtech]

I don't think we will see the day gas is not f'ing expensive
*Chris points to the movie Who Killed the Electric Car?*

[Bruno]

We're hovering around the $ 1.10 mark for regular here in Moncton, NB.

[bull09]

Oil hit $100 a barrel today... market prices are purely speculative at this point... it's a joke. Leading economists have said the price should fall to around a low $90s ... so they're 10% overpriced at the very least.

Factoring all the typical excuses for why gas is high:
- OPEC might not meet demand by 2024 ... but if they just up their product a tad they'll be fine for decades thereafter :S
- Nigerian guerillas attacked the main port city causing some death but no damage...
- US Inventories are expected to fall
- The Lochness Monster, Big Foot and Extra-Terrestrials have all professed a love for oil

So as you can see we have many glaring international issues affecting the price of gasoline.

Realistically... India/China are becoming ever more thirsty for resources - especially oil and the world's producers are comfortable sitting on their hands doing nothing to increase production because they will earn fatter margins. Prices are seriously out of whack when someone can produce $100 billion in profit in a year (exxon :@)

I can't wait for people to start trumpeting the 'ethanol age' where not only will our price of fuel increase but so will the cost to buy anything agricultural... oh and guess what: corn (a primary source of ethanol) is used in nearly everything you can imagine! So not only will we get poorer fuel economy, but probably people will go hungry.

Like my dad has always said: I have to find a way to make cars run on urine... imagine being able to pull over to the side and fill up your tank! Better yet, we should make cars run off of media bullshit (see above)... it would be like harnessing cold fusion!

[bull09]

And to clarify - in case I sound stupid - corn by-product is typically ran through a fermenting process to create the ethanol flexfuel cars desire... other great sources include sugar cane (see Brazil) and alcohol (see Ralph's 'GASOHOL' fueled car)

1 for you... 1 for me... 1 for you ... 1 for me

[GraniteGrey]

There are 3.8 litres in every 1 US Gallon... I'd love to see $3/USGal again... that would be about $0.79/L (assuming dollar parity). It was $1.04/L when I went out today ($3.94/USGal).

The GST drop won't show-up on gas or other small purchases... it certainly didn't last time. Parking, gas, recreation fees, etc. just stayed where they were. The 1% just improved profits for the seller. Now purchasing a new TV or something... that's where it'll show up.

My wife wants to buy a medium format film scanner... we'll likely be spending in the $1 to $2K range (I don't know what one she wants yet). 1% savings will be nice but it wouldn't be a deciding factor to buy or not. I can't see people rushing-out now just because of the GST drop to buy stuff.

Take Care,
GraniteGrey

[jnak]

Yeah, the GST drop will only be really noticeable on large purchases. Like cars.

Also, gas prices include other taxes. I may be wrong but I don't think GST is charged on those taxes, so the GST component isn't 5% of the pump price, it's something less than that. So the effect of the GST drop is less than 1% on the price of gas.

[Hello]

im sorry but ethanol is not the way, so what we will pay $2 a gallon for gas, yeah great until you go to the supermarket and pay $2 for an ear of corn, and you know why milk is $5 a gallon, corn price increases makes cow raising more expensive, you really want to pay $7-8 a gallon for milk?

[newbiestyle]

what about converting cars to run on ? it seems like all of us g6ers get a steady supply from work.

[GraniteGrey]

Yeah, the GST drop will only be really noticeable on large purchases. Like cars.

Also, gas prices include other taxes. I may be wrong but I don't think GST is charged on those taxes, so the GST component isn't 5% of the pump price, it's something less than that. So the effect of the GST drop is less than 1% on the price of gas.

Actually, GST is charged on-top of the other taxes! There's

• Federal Excise Tax of $0.10/L;[/*:m:9sl6dp4j]
• Ontario Excise Tax of 0.147/L; and[/*:m:9sl6dp4j]
• GST (now 5%) on price after applying other taxes.[/*:m:9sl6dp4j]

When GST was 6% (2007), the Canadian Government had a nice graph showing the cost of taxes on a pump price of $1.00/L (showing cents of tax per litre):

If you pick Toronto (Ontario), take $1.00 - 0.057 (the GST amount) gives you $0.943. Now, add 6% (the old GST rate) and you're right back to an even buck.

So, bottom line is we Canadians get taxed on our taxes! We pay income tax before we even get our pay cheque, then we buy gas and pay GST on
Excise taxes.

Take Care,
GraniteGrey

[redsun_ty]

Not only our pay cheques get tax everytime and when comes tax time in April you get to pay your taxes again depending on how much you make. God knows on the fuel business takes very little to make the price jump, and it takes forever to make the price fall that is just reality.

For the pass couple years the Canadian economy has been doing very well but can you say that your salary has increased? Are you living a better life? Are you getting wealthier?

[jnak]

You don't get taxed again on your income in March (actually April). You just pay tax on the income you haven't already paid tax on.

[redsun_ty]

You don't get taxed again on your income in March (actually April). You just pay tax on the income you haven't already paid tax on.

Thanks for that JNAK but I still feel cheated because of that. But that just my own opinion.

[jnak]

Fair enough