April 1 means it’s April fools day but these rate increases are no joke, unfortunately.
Federal Carbon Tax
As of today, the federal carbon tax is set to increase which will bring a bump of 4 cents to the price of a litre of gas, totaling at 14 cents per litre.
Also, the carbon price for individuals and small businesses based on greenhouse gas emissions will increase by $15 per tonne to a total of $65 per tonne.
However, the carbon price rebate is also increasing. In Saskatchewan, an individual can receive up to $680, $340 for a spouse or common-law partner, and $170 per child under 19 but $340 can be given for the first child in a single-parent family.
SaskPower Utility Rates
SaskPower customers will also see roughly $5 added to their monthly bills with the company’s per cent increase coming into effect today.
This is on top of a four per cent increase that the company rolled out in September of 2022 and a there per cent increase at the start of 2022.
SaskPower has said that these increases will help balance the financial needs of the company’s operations.
Federal Alcohol Excise Tax
The Alcohol excise tax also sees an increase today of two per cent.
Now, this is much better than the initial 6.3 per cent it was supposed to increase but it was reduced in the federal budget due to an outcry from the brewery and distilling industry.
Microbrewers and distillers said the originally predicted increase of 6.3 per cent would have likely put many small breweries and distilleries out of business since they’re still dealing with inflationary costs and bouncing back from the pandemic.
