Finance minister hears harsh words on MJVT

TORONTO, Ont. — Ontario Finance Minister, Janet Ecker has heard an earful over double taxation of the trucking industry from the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) at a pre-budget roundtable meeting.

OTA President, David Bradley slammed the province over the Multi-Jurisdictional Vehicle Tax (MJVT) in his submission to Ecker and finance ministry officials.

He said while Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces have harmonized with the GST, Alberta has no sales tax, and 88 per cent of U.S. states exempt interstate trucking equipment, parts and labor from sales tax, Ontario “sticks out like a sore thumb” compared to these “major competitor jurisdictions.” That’s because it followed “the lead of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia by rushing into MJVT,” Bradley said.

Bradley says Ontario carriers are being treated unfairly because they have to administer three tax systems – the MJVT, provincial sales tax and the GST – and because they are being double-taxed for trailers in their IRP fleets as of October 1, 2001 when the MJVT was started. Fleets have already paid the 8 per cent provincial sales tax on their trailers, and are now paying again on the attributed trailer value that’s worked into the MJVT formula, Bradley argues.

“There can be no argument for double taxation. Truckers shouldn’t pay twice, because someone else isn’t paying enough or governments are spending too much,” he says.

Ecker is expected to bring down a new budget in March or April.