Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good day, members of the committee.
Thank you for the invitation to appear before you today. We are pleased to be here to discuss our analysis related to your study of federal assistance for various natural resource industries. With me today I have Philip Bagnoli, advisor-analyst.
Consistent with the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s mandate to provide independent, nonpartisan analysis to Parliament, my Office has released reports on the cost of federal tax provisions related to the fossil fuel sector and the value of exempting agricultural activity from the federal carbon levy, as well as extensive financial analysis of the Trans Mountain assets.
Our report, entitled “Energy sector and agriculture: federal revenue forgone from tax provisions”, which was published on December 7, 2021, in response to a request from Senator Galvez, estimates that resource-specific expense claims by oil, gas and coal mining corporations reduced annual federal tax revenue by $1.8 billion, on average, from 2015 to 2019. Furthermore, the carbon levy exemption for agriculture was worth an estimated $179 million in 2019 when the levy was $20 per tonne. This figure will rise significantly as the levy increases to $170 per tonne.
We would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have regarding our analysis related to the natural resource sector or other PBO work.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.