Ontario truckers submit next Ontario budget wishlist

TORONTO — The Ontario Trucking Association wants the provincial government to overhaul “discriminatory” tax treatment of trucking and consider incentives for the purchase of ’07 EPA-compliant diesel engines, among other recommendations.

“Ontario’s economic prosperity is predicated upon its ability to participate in the global supply chain and attract new investment and that requires a competitive, efficient and productive freight transportation system,” said OTA President David Bradley in a presentation to Ontario Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan as part of the provincial government’s 2006 pre-budget consultations.

OTA wants long-terms infrastructure
funding plan for main trade arteries

“The Ontario government must eliminate artificial barriers to competitiveness in sectors like trucking, and to do that we need to look at the tax system, at infrastructure investment and ways to cut government waste and improved delivery of government services,” he said.

Bradley decried the fact that Ontario carriers pay three forms of sales tax on their trucks and trailers — the MJVT, the PST and the GST. “Imagine the costs to industry and to government to administer three tax systems,” Bradley said, adding that Ontario should either repeal the sales tax on trucking equipment as Michigan has done, or harmonize it with the GST as Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces have done.

Other highlights of OTA’s 2006 pre-budget submission include:

— Accelerate Penetration of New Smog-Free Trucks: “A glorious opportunity exists for the province to do something tangible to improve air quality by creating a separate, more aggressive CCA rate for the new generation of smog-free truck engines coming onto the market starting with the 2007 model year,” Bradley said. “Ontario should also accelerate the phase-out of the capital tax announced in the 2005 budget to coincide with the 2008 Canadian federal government repeal of the tax.”

— Regain Control Over WSIB: Ontario must immediately regain control over the WSIB, Bradley urged. Rather than implementing the WSIB plan to continue to hike payroll taxes, the WSIB should revise the target date for the elimination of the unfunded liability. The new WSIB approach to Experience Rating should also be reconsidered, he says.

— Develop Long-Term Infrastructure Funding Plan for Main Trade Corridors:

“Part of this plan should be a review of the environmental assessment process so that investment in key infrastructure projects can be undertaken in a timely manner while still respecting legitimate environmental concerns,” says Bradley. “Ontario should also urge the Government of Canada to develop and implement a National Highway Strategy.”

— Improve MTO Service/Industry Compliance: Ontario should increase funds available for MTO to invest in modern information systems to support improved customer service and more effective safety programs and compliance, Bradley said.