Sort of yes, sort of no. Car rental agencies are subject to a large amount of taxes and surcharges that are taken from the customer and go directly to the federal/provincial/local government or airport authority. However, some of the fees are just alternate forms of revenue for the rental agency to offset certain expenses. Take my example earlier in this thread for example:

GST
Federal tax that goes directly to the feds

Location Surcharge
Percentage based levy that goes directly to the airport authority for the privilege of using their space to retrieve your rental car

PST
7% provincial sales tax

Road Tax
This goes directly to the provincial government

Vehicle Fee
Also known as VLATR (Vehicle Licensing and Air Tax Recovery), this is the only fee in this example that goes into the rental agency's coffers. Agencies use the VLATR to recover registration costs and the $100 tax on each new car sold in Canada equipped with A/C.


I've also seen Thrifty charge a VMF (Vehicle Maintenance Fee), whose recovery purpose is self-explanatory. Other ones I've seen are Energy Surchages, and Parking Surcharges for agencies in downtown Toronto.

I'm of the belief that the agency makes money, or revenue, and uses this money to pay off expenses. The difference between the two amounts is profit; this is basic economics. I have no issue with taxes and government surcharges being listed separately, but the agency doesn't need to lure me in with a nice $25/day rate and then offset their operating expenses one by one. What's to stop them from charging me for the printer paper, or adding a charge when I take a cup of water from the cooler in the rental lobby?