Cremation Carbon Taxes

[oneoff]

There's a $100.00 carbon tax in Alberta for a cremation service.

Anyone know if it's lot cheaper to burn in Hell.

[blackpowder]

I wouldn't think they use that much gas. Sounds like an easy money maker. If your poor will your estate get the rebate?
NDP and certain other group's exempt? Aw hell, a whole stand up comedy routine in that one!

[oneoff]

And because there the tax amount should be so small...why is it relatively so large.

Just a harbinger of what is here now and that which will be coming for every imaginable good and service.

[oneoff]

Just for the record

Two grieving Alberta families have each been slapped with a $100 carbon tax bill after having a relative cremated, just days after the tax was introduced in that province. The $100 fee was handwritten on Ed Connon's bill when he paid to cremate his 93-year-old mother, Margaret Connon, who died Jan. 7

[oneoff]

According to CBC one of the families billed was told



MacLeod was told her mother's cremation used enough natural gas to create five tonnes of carbon dioxide, or the amount of natural gas used to heat an average home for almost a year, leading to the $100 charge.


And this is why being off by a factor of 100 or 25 or even 4 times gets noticed; recognized and negatively appreciated by only some people. The rest will remain nameless

Apparently a charge of $1 or $4 would be more reasonable. I say it never should have been charged in the first place.

[SASKFARMER3]

Its a money grab. Actually should of bought a funeral home years ago always clients and now with cremation just a big burner.

But really this tax shit of Trudeau is getting out of hand. Boy wonder is a one hit and I'm starting to think he is gone in what less than three years.

[chuckChuck]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/go-public-cremation-carbon-tax-funeral-home-1.3929133

Go Public
'Doesn't seem right': Funeral home overcharges grieving families for cremation carbon tax
Alberta funeral home apologizes for overcharging, offers refunds after Go Public investigates

By Rosa Marchitelli, Rachel Ward, CBC News Posted: Jan 12, 2017 3:00 AM MT Last Updated: Jan 12, 2017 10:26 AM MT
Ed Connon says he was disturbed to see a $100 carbon tax on the bill for his mother's cremation last week. Both families complained to the business, Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services Airdrie, just outside Calgary.

Ed Connon says he was disturbed to see a $100 carbon tax on the bill for his mother's cremation last week. Both families complained to the business, Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services Airdrie, just outside Calgary.

Two grieving Alberta families have each been slapped with a $100 carbon tax bill after having a relative cremated, just days after the tax was introduced in that province.

The $100 fee was handwritten on Ed Connon's bill when he paid to cremate his 93-year-old mother, Margaret Connon, who died Jan. 7. The funeral home staff had no explanation for him.

"I said, 'wow.' She just kind of looked at me and I said, 'this doesn't seem right'."

​Terry MacLeod had the same thing on her bill. Her 78-year-old mother, Eunice Larson, died Jan. 1.

"It said right there — carbon tax. I didn't want to get into a confrontation," MacLeod said. "You just want to finalize everything.

"I'm an only child and this was my mom."

Both families complained to the business, Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services Airdrie, just outside Calgary.

MacLeod was told her mother's cremation used enough natural gas to create five tonnes of carbon dioxide, or the amount of natural gas used to heat an average home for almost a year, leading to the $100 charge.
Terry MacLeod

Terry MacLeod says she was charged $100 carbon tax when cremating her mother at an Airdrie, Alta., funeral home. (Mike Symington/CBC)

"You just go to a business and expect it to be fair," MacLeod said.

The province says that charge was out of line, claiming the carbon tax per cremation should equal, on average, less than $1 and not more than $4.

A cremation generally costs between from $1,500 and $2,700.

The $100 fee charged for cremation would almost pay the carbon tax for a year of home heating. (CBC)

At first, funeral home owner Diann Rowat told Go Public that the price was so high because "carbon tax is not just on cremation. It's on every fuel product you use, so it's also on the gas on our funeral vehicles."
'We feel foolish'

A day later, Rowat recontacted the CBC, saying she asked her accountants to double-check — and they found they were off by a decimal point.

The funeral home apologized and offered refunds to families, saying it made a mistake calculating the new tax meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, the funeral home should have charged $10.09, Rowat said.

"We feel foolish and extremely apologetic that it took a complaint to you guys to make me ask to re-do the math on this," Rowat told Go Public. "It was totally our fault."

All families charged the $100 fee will be reimbursed and receive an apology phone call, she said.

Alberta Trade and Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous said the funeral home was "not being accurate and honest" by charging grieving families the needlessly high fee.

"It's disappointing that the company is choosing to increase their costs — which is a business decision should they so choose — but to blame the carbon levy is more than a little misleading to consumers," Bilous said.

On Jan. 1, Alberta's carbon levies kicked in. With few exceptions, a tax is being charged on all fuels that release greenhouse gases with the goal of reducing emissions.

Since then, businesses have struggled to estimate its impact — and what to pass on to Albertans, said Jennifer Winter, area director of energy and environmental policy at the University of Calgary.

Correctly calculating the cost of the carbon tax is difficult when considering indirect carbon use, such as heating and shipping.

"And that is what's causing a lot of the overestimates of the effect of the carbon tax," Winter said.

'Hasn't been a lot of explanation'

Other provinces introducing a similar tax should learn from mistakes made by the Alberta NDP government, she said. Most of Alberta's focus has been on educating households about increases in heating fuel and grocery costs, she said.

"There hasn't been a lot of explanation around how businesses should be treating the carbon levy or the carbon tax, and whether or not there should be rules about passing it on to consumers," Winter said.

Jennifer Winter, an energy and environmental policy director at the University of Calgary, says businesses may not know how to calculate the carbon tax.

Connon said he was even more disappointed because his mother bought her funeral package more than 20 years ago.

"It's disturbing to hear all of a sudden these costs are coming out at us, under the contract signed by her," he said.

When told about the fee, Connon found it difficult to get a straight answer about what would be an appropriate charge for a carbon tax on cremation.

"This is the tip of the iceberg," he said.

"People are going to be charged the tax for everything — and in some cases, they shouldn't be taxed for."

Connon wants the Alberta government to release guidelines for all industries so consumers can tell if they're being overcharged.

A handful of exceptions to the carbon tax overall include Indigenous people and farmers, but funeral homes and crematoriums are expected to pay.

Connon says the Alberta government should make carbon tax charges clear to citizens.

British Columbia also has a carbon tax that applies to cremation services.

In October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a national "floor price" on carbon that would require all provinces and territories to have some form of carbon pricing by 2018.

Ontario and Quebec have opted for a cap-and-trade plan, in which the government limits the total amount of carbon emissions allowed for business.
Carbon tax bill

Cameron Davis, chairman of Alberta Funeral Services Regulatory Board, said all Canadians will soon pay more for funeral services — although he can't say how much — when other provinces start their own carbon-reduction policies.

"You're going to see it in cremation, you're going to see it in burial," he said.

[oneoff]

According to CBC one of the families billed was told



MacLeod was told her mother's cremation used enough natural gas to create five tonnes of carbon dioxide, or the amount of natural gas used to heat an average home for almost a year, leading to the $100 charge.


And this is why being off by a factor of 100 or 25 or even 4 times gets noticed; recognized and negatively appreciated by only some people. The rest will remain nameless

Apparently a charge of $1 or $4 would be more reasonable. I say it never should have been charged in the first place.

BUT all that rationale does is say that to change a body to ashes takes a relatively small amount of natural gas...thus maybe two toonies for the extra costs of running the furnace.


CONTContemplate these comments from someone familiar with crematoriiums


Something that people don’t think about is the costs on situations like a loved one’s death. I’ve worked almost a decade in the funeral industry. When grandma passes, and she wants to be cremated, well you better believe that the Funeral Home is going to pass that lovely carbon tax onto you. This means that Grandma’s ‘cheap’, no-frills cremation will go up from $6,000 to (a very low-ball estimation) of at least $7,600 (based on 30% increase on heating). Not to mention the extra levy on things such as their limos, coaches, transferring your loved ones, the power to keep the funeral home running, and the extra costs of buying supplies. This is why people against the carbon tax say that it will effect everything! It will even affect you after you die. Everyone better start pre-paying for their funeral, at least then you lock in your costs.



So now your see that no one was probably really gouged. I still say there should have been no tax in the first place...because it will that will cause a cascade of price increases through every system from manufacturing through to delivery and installation for the end consumer). And it won't amount to $20.00 or $50.00 per tonne.

[chuckChuck]

The owner of the funeral home had her accountants check and the extra carbon tax should have been $10 instead of 100. They apologized and are refunding the $100.

How could anyone make a mistake like that adding 1 digit to the cost! Poor math skills or a typo? Just kidding happens all the time. LOL

[chuckChuck]

Funeral costs are out of line with or without a carbon tax. People spend too much at a vulnerable time.

Cremation used to be a cheap option and is still likely cheaper than embalming and an expensive casket.

Much of these costs can be reduced with careful planning and an emphasis on taking care of the friends and family and not the show!