How far will people go out of their way to save a couple of bucks on gas? It depends on the individual, but that’s what an Amherst-area merchant wants determined.
We continue to maintain Nova Scotia has to do a thorough soul-searching as to why taxes in general are higher than in New Brunswick. But Brian Fage, operator of a service station in Amherst, offers a good proposal of what can be tried in the meantime as plummeting sales have forced gas retailers to throw in the towel.
Fage has drawn up a proposal that would see an experimental drop in the province’s motive fuel tax in that zone to match prices in southern New Brunswick – where gas can be seven to 10 cents a litre cheaper. After 60 days, see if shopping patterns return to normal and judge from that.
The typical fill-up of 35 or 40 litres at a seven- or eight-cent saving comes out to about $3. Not everyone will go out of their way, but some will, and the loss some of these retailers are experiencing bears that out.
He has presented his idea to area MLA Brian Skabar, who has said he’ll take it to caucus.
The overall thrust of Fage’s intent is bang-on: we need to make Amherst and Oxford the last fuel stop for people heading out of the province and the first one for those entering.
The savings available in Aulac and Sackville have long been considerable – and are greater now with the recent increase in the HST.
The provincial government – which decided through hearings earlier this year that intervention wasn’t needed – should be listening closely. The drain of provincial revenues in gas sales should be good encouragement. And as businesses in northern Nova Scotia lose out to people who make a day of it, go for gas and a day of shopping, it’s that much more of a loss in jobs, commerce and the tax base.
The idea is certainly worth a try – there’s nothing to lose in it and plenty to gain, or at least to maintain. A vast area of the province with no retail gas sales is unfathomable.
