Connect with us

Published

on

The province of Saskatchewan in Canada has joined a growing number of regions around the world in levying punitive taxes against electric cars while letting gas cars continue to get away with murder. But a local group has come up with a creative way to show just how dumb their EV tax is: by demanding a tax on people who use sidewalks.

Saskatchewan’s new EV tax went into place on October 1, and is the first EV tax implemented in Canada. The tax charges $150 per year for every EV registered in the province. Saskatchewan does not have any province-specific incentives for EVs. We’ve covered before how these taxes are unreasonable, unfair, and pushed by the fossil fuel industry, that there are better ways to implement them (and worse ways), and how a combination of weight + mileage fees combined with a price on carbon would be a much more fair and ideal solution.

The proponents of the new sidewalk tax – a small group of taxpayers who call themselves “Saskatchewanians for Sidewalk Sustenance” (SSS) – point out that sidewalk users “put less exhaust in the air, contribute to wellness, and lower the health care costs we’ll pay today and tomorrow, all while fighting climate change” when compared to driving gasoline-powered vehicles. In these ways, sidewalks represent a public good, and people who choose to use sidewalks instead of roads are doing something to benefit their communities. The same is true of EVs when compared to gas cars (but not compared to sidewalks).

So, if Saskatchewan wants to put a punitive disincentive on something that absolutely should be incentivized, SSS claims that they might as well do the same for sidewalks, too.

Their group’s press release really hammers home the ridiculousness of EV taxes by laying on some thick sarcasm:

“Every day, thousands of people walk all over our sidewalks, push heavy strollers and shopping carts, even use motorized vehicles and bicycles,” says Lou Acera, president of SSS. “But are they contributing to the extra upkeep? This makes sure they do.”

The group points to what it believes is an alarming increase in sidewalk usage by environment- conscious citizens. “We’re observing a ton more people than ever before using the sidewalks,” states Acera. “They tell us that they’re doing it to remove polluting cars off the road and promote an overall healthier population, so that we all pay less taxes in the long run, but they’re sneaky. They’re walking all over us, so we’re hitting back.”

“The group will be running outdoor (attached) and radio ads and is planning a press conference to reveal “the concrete proof,” as well as a list of SSS-approved footwear from popular brands scientifically assessed by the group to have less impact on sidewalks than most shoes. “It’s a little thing we all can do,” says Acera, who personally wears Crocs when he has no choice but to sidewalk. “The foam outsole is the gentlest we’ve tested by far.”

The group’s real goals are not to implement a sidewalk tax, but to use this to show the absurdity of EV taxes. In terms of actual policy proposals, the organization suggests that Saskatchewan pause the implementation of its EV tax until greater levels of EV penetration are reached. As is, the tax will disincentivize a fledgling industry while not actually raising any significant amount of money (and perhaps even costing the province money).

Currently, there are about 600 electric vehicles registered in all of Saskatchewan, meaning the tax will bring in a whopping $90,000 per year. Based on average costs of Saskatchewan highway repair, this is enough money to repair approximately 140 meters of highway (based on 2015 numbers), out of a total of more than 26 million meters of highway in the province – that’s .0005% of Saskatchewan’s highways. But given that this is a new program, it might not even be enough to pay for administrative costs of the new tax.

In an opinion piece about Saskatchewan’s EV tax, Joel Bruneau, a professor of economics at the University of Saskatchewan, explains how the tax, implemented now, will make the province poorer. Not only will administrative costs possibly take up most of the new tax’s revenue, but it also will send a signal to EV-related businesses that Saskatchewan is unfriendly to electric cars and thus detract from possible investment in the region (e.g., in the province’s large mining sector that could provide EV battery components).

Bruneau also points out that it’s an economically inefficient policy. Utilities often charge “access” and “usage” fees, like a flat monthly connection fee and then a scaling fee based on how much resource you use. But Saskatchewan is now charging an access fee for EVs and exempting all non-electric vehicles from said access fee.

Meanwhile, gas cars pay a rough analog of a usage fee in the form of gas tax, and electric cars pay a rough analog in the form of taxes on electricity. Bruneau argues that, ideally, all cars should be charged an access fee based on weight and a usage fee based on mileage (and since virtually all economists support a carbon price, we suspect that he would support one as well).

SSS suggests that Saskatchewan should at least wait until there are more electric cars on the roads before implementing this tax. The adoption threshold they’ve chosen is based on when California put their EV tax into place – when EV adoption reached 1.3% of vehicles.

But California’s fee was still implemented too early, and still wasn’t going to help fill any holes in the state’s transportation budget by being implemented that early. A better model would be New South Wales in Australia, which adopted an EV incentive package including tax breaks and big spending on public charging infrastructure, along with a future EV tax which will go into place either in 2027 or when 30% of new car sales are electric, whichever comes sooner.

Or an even better model would be to implement weight, mileage, and carbon fees, and get away from the imprecise and inefficient method of underfunding roads through too-low gas taxes that politicians never have the courage to hike when needed and punitive taxes on a minority that’s just trying to do the right thing for their community and the climate.

But SSS says that, in a province with a powerful oil and gas industry, this 1.3% target is the best they think they’ll be able to get. So it’s what they’re going for.

To show that they’re serious about this effort and not just trying to save themselves $150, SSS has even offered to pay your EV tax for you – or to donate it to the Saskatchewan Environmental Society (SES). Saskatchewan EV drivers can provide proof on their “get your tax back” link, and can ask for SSS to send them a $150 check or donate that check to SES.

The organization also suggests that supporters can share or retweet their campaigns on social media (they have a Twitter and Facebook, but Facebook has been down all day worldwide and we can’t get a link right now), send a letter to Saskatchewan representatives (which you can do at the bottom of their page), or help to crowdfund their campaign.


Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Kate Nash says selling photos of her bum on OnlyFans paid for an extra tour crew member

Published

on

By

Kate Nash says selling photos of her bum on OnlyFans paid for an extra tour crew member

Kate Nash says selling photos of her bottom on the X-rated site OnlyFans has allowed her to add an extra crew member to her tour staff.

The 37-year-old singer says the fact she is having to subsidise her shows in this way shows that the music industry is “completely broken”.

She announced she was launching her OnlyFans account last week as she began the UK leg of her tour, and has previously said on Instagram that, “touring makes losses not profits”.

Speaking about her new venture to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she said it was “very funny” and “fun to do,” adding, “My industry is completely broken, I don’t think it’s sustainable, and I think it’s a complete failure, I think it will collapse as well”.

Going on to talk about “people finding solutions to fund their art,” she said: “I think it’s quite empowering, and I’m also creating jobs with my bum now.

“For example, I couldn’t bring a crew member that’s on tour with me in the UK to Europe, but now I can, because of my OnlyFans website.”

Read more:
Davina McCall releases video statement after brain tumour surgery
Wicked lands largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue

She has previously described the career move as a “punk protest,” containing “lots of comedy”.

Speaking to LBC last week, she said: “The cost of touring has gone up. Just like the cost of living crisis, there’s a cost-of-touring crisis – where the cost of travel, accommodation, crew wages, bus rental, all the things that you need to pay for when you go on tour, everything’s gone up.

“But a lot of bands’ and artists’ fees for gigs have not gone up, whereas ticket prices have gone up.”

Nash also said music was an “exploitative industry,” adding, “I have had lots of experience of being exploited”.

She said it could “learn a lot from the sex industry”.

Beginning her career in 2005, Nash has had one UK top 10 single – 2007’s Foundations – and two UK top 10 albums.

She has just finished a three-week US tour and is now touring the UK before moving on to Europe. Her London gig later this week is sold out.

And Nash isn’t the only one branching out to bring in cash. Lily Allen said earlier this year that she had joined OnlyFans to sell photographs of her feet.

The 39-year-old Smile singer, who moved to the US in 2020, says she has “very strict guidelines” and is charging subscribers $10 (£8) a month to view images of her feet on the platform.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Davina McCall says she has short-term memory problems after brain tumour surgery

Published

on

By

Davina McCall says she has short-term memory problems after brain tumour surgery

Davina McCall has said her short-term memory is “a bit remiss” as she recovers from brain tumour surgery.

Speaking from her bed, the visibly emotional TV presenter posted a short video updating her Instagram followers on her condition, saying it had been a “mad” time.

She expressed an “enormous heartfelt thank you” to people who had messaged her after she revealed this month she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.

Looking bright, but with a visibly bruised left eye, McCall said: “My short-term memory is a bit remiss.

“But that is something I can work on, so I’m really happy about that. I’m writing everything down, to keep myself feeling safe.”

She added: “It’s been mad, and it’s just really nice to be back home, I’m on the other side.”

In a message posted with the video, she reiterated her thanks for all the support she has received, adding: “Had a great night’s sleep in my own bed. Have a couple of sleeps during the day which keeps my brain clear… Slowly, slowly…”

When she first shared her diagnosis, she said chances of having it were “three in a million” and that she had discovered it several months previously after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.

The 57-year-old star said support from her fans had “meant the world”.

She said she was being “brilliantly looked after” by her partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and her stepmother, Gabby, who she calls mum.

Becoming tearful, the presenter said: “I’d quickly like to say big up the stepmums. I don’t really say thank you to Gabby enough. She’s been an amazing rock my whole life.”

McCall was estranged from her birth mother, Florence McCall, who died in 2008.

Kate coming out of the Big Brother house in 2002
Image:
McCall with 2002 Big Brother winner Kate Lawler. Pic: Rex Features

With a catch in her voice, McCall went on: “I’ve got a massive dose of vitamin G – I’m just really grateful. I’ve always been really lucky in my life, but I feel unbelievably grateful right now. So, thanks for everything, all of you.

“I’m on the mend, I’m resting and sleeping loads and I feel really good. I’m just very lucky.”

Stars including presenter Alison Hammond, singer Craig David and radio host Zoe Ball quickly shared their delight at the positive update.

McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.

Davina McCall  with her partner Michael Douglas and her daughter Holly Robertson after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire
Pic: PA
Image:
McCall with her MBE, alongside her partner Michael Douglas and her daughter Holly Robertson. Pic: PA

She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, the most recent being ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.

Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.

Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.

She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Barbara Taylor Bradford, the ‘grand dame of blockbusters’, dies aged 91

Published

on

By

Barbara Taylor Bradford, the 'grand dame of blockbusters', dies aged 91

Barbara Taylor Bradford, the bestselling novelist who wrote A Woman Of Substance, has died at the age of 91.

The Leeds-born author, who sold more than 90 million books, died peacefully at her home on Sunday after a short illness and was “surrounded by loved ones to the very end”, a spokeswoman said.

Taylor Bradford, who was often labelled “the grand dame of blockbusters”, hit the big time when A Woman Of Substance was published in 1979, making her an overnight success.

The story sold millions of copies and traced the journey of Emma Harte from life as a servant in rural Yorkshire to heading a business empire.

The rags to riches story was followed by many other successful books with the author’s works being published in more than 40 languages across 90 countries.

Barbara Taylor Bradford,.
Pic: Caroll Taveras/Bradford Enterprises/PA
Image:
Pic: Caroll Taveras/Bradford Enterprises/PA

Barbara Taylor Bradford on her 21st birthday.
Pic: Bradford Enterprises/PA
Image:
The author on her 21st birthday. Pic: Bradford Enterprises/PA

Charlie Redmayne, chief executive of publisher HarperCollins, said the author was a “natural storyteller”, adding: “Barbara Taylor Bradford was a truly exceptional writer whose first book, the international bestseller A Woman Of Substance, changed the lives of so many who read it – and still does to this day.”

Taylor Bradford, who was made an OBE in 2007 for services to literature, wrote a total of 40 novels during her career – her most recent was The Wonder Of It All, published last year.

Barbara Taylor Bradford.
Pic: Caroll Taveras/Bradford Enterprises/PA
Image:
Pic: Caroll Taveras/Bradford Enterprises/PA

File photo dated 01/06/93 of Barbara Taylor Bradford with her husband Robert at Claridges Hotel, London, during a visit to launch her new blockbuster book "Angels". Bestselling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford, who wrote A Woman of Substance, has died at the age of 91, it has been announced. Issue date: Monday November 25, 2024.
Image:
Taylor Bradford with her husband Robert in 1993. Pic: PA

Born in May 1933 as the only child of Winston and Freda Taylor, she worked as a typist for the Yorkshire Evening Post before becoming a reporter and then the paper’s first woman’s editor.

At the age of 20, she moved to London and worked in Fleet Street for Woman’s Own and the London Evening News.

She met her husband, American film producer Robert Bradford, in 1961 and they married in London on Christmas Eve in 1963 before moving to New York the following year.

Read more on Sky News:
At least one dead after DHL cargo plane crashes
How long will unsettled weather last in the UK?

The couple were married for 55 years until he died from a stroke in 2019.

Following a private funeral in New York, the author will be buried alongside her late husband at the city’s Westchester Hills Cemetery.

Continue Reading

Trending