By Mark Nielsen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Prince George business owner is fighting back after the provincial government ordered him to pay nearly $200,000 in tax he allegedly failed to collect from the sale of “coloured fuel” at one of his gas stations.

According to a petition filed June 18 at the Prince George courthouse Bruce Kidd is seeking a court order to overturn the assessment and claims the provincial government went outside its authority in imposing the assessment and that the method used to determine how much was owed was unfair.

Also called dyed or marked fuel, coloured fuel is reserved for farmers and recreational boaters and for purposes related to logging, mining, oil and gas and road building.  A tax of three-cents per litre is levied by the provincial government on the fuel compared to 7.75 cents per litre for regular gas. 

In November 2018, the B.C. Ministry of Finance issued a notice of assessment claiming Kidd Ventures Ltd. owed $221,495.88 – made up of $192,918.88 in uncollected tax, $27,730.80 in interest and a $846.07 penalty – from the sale of the fuel at the KG CornerStore at 8087 Hart Highway.

The station “is located within a farming community and in close proximity to a marine recreational area,” and many of the outlet’s customers are farmers and recreational boaters, according to the petition. 

According to the Motor Fuel Tax Act, anyone who buys fuel through a card lock or purchase more than 45 litres must pay a differential between the taxes unless the dealer has obtained a declaration stating the fuel will be for the purposes listed in the legislation.

This item is reprinted with permission from the Prince George Citizen. For the complete article, click HERE

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