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Old 11-10-2008, 12:23 PM   #1
Cowboy89
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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Default Alberta Royalty Review Revisited a year later

http://www.reportonbusiness.com/serv.../Business/home

Quote:
“There is strong evidence … to suggest that investment is leaving the province,” said FirstEnergy analyst Robert Fitzmartyn in a research note, citing a drop in Crown land sales and flat drilling rig counts since the new royalty scheme was announced.
“Alberta's policy is not competitive enough to overcome the attractiveness of other jurisdictions to maintain prior [levels] of investment,” he said. “There is no question in our minds that Alberta has positioned itself to be an uncompetitive jurisdiction.”

The reallocation of capital means Alberta is unlikely to recoup the additional $1.4-billion in revenues it has said the higher royalties will create, Mr. Fitzmartyn added.
It appears that once again the government enacted a populist policy that will ultimately shrink the economic pie despite taking a bigger 'percentage piece' but a smaller actual piece for the government. Let this be a lesson for all those a year ago thinking that this policy would result in more money for public goods. With income redistribution there is always a 'big tradeoff' that often ends up with both sides having less.

For what was said a year ago here are the relavent threads:

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/search.php?searchid=792619
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