Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Alberta flushing its resource revenues down the drain

Tinordi · 02-10-2012, 03:11 PM

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2333090/

Alberta has very big government. Its ratio of civil servants to population is high, relative to elsewhere in Canada. Its public services are large and well-funded, again compared with everywhere else. Thursday’s budget didn’t touch those services, except to pour more money into them.

At the same time, Alberta keeps its taxes low: no sales tax, relatively lower personal and income taxes. How does it perform this enviable fiscal miracle: low taxes but high spending? It sure isn’t because of red-blooded right-wingers in the provincial government.

One line item in every Alberta budget shows how the miracle unfolds: non-renewable energy resources. Last year, Alberta took in $8.6-billion in personal income taxes, $3.6-billion in corporate income taxes, $3.8-billion in “other” revenue, $4.7-billion in federal transfers and $8.3-billion in resource revenues. In other words, oil and gas revenues (about half of which – $4.1-billion – came from tar sands oil) poured almost as much money into the Alberta treasury as personal income taxes. What provincial government wouldn’t love that?

Pretty scathing article saying that AB is basically squandering the use of resources revenues for future Albertans to satisfy low tax demands for the short sighted. I agree entirely.

02-10-2012, 03:11 PM	#1
Tinordi Lifetime Suspension Join Date: Nov 2010 Exp:	Alberta flushing its resource revenues down the drain http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2333090/ Alberta has very big government. Its ratio of civil servants to population is high, relative to elsewhere in Canada. Its public services are large and well-funded, again compared with everywhere else. Thursday’s budget didn’t touch those services, except to pour more money into them. At the same time, Alberta keeps its taxes low: no sales tax, relatively lower personal and income taxes. How does it perform this enviable fiscal miracle: low taxes but high spending? It sure isn’t because of red-blooded right-wingers in the provincial government. One line item in every Alberta budget shows how the miracle unfolds: non-renewable energy resources. Last year, Alberta took in $8.6-billion in personal income taxes, $3.6-billion in corporate income taxes, $3.8-billion in “other” revenue, $4.7-billion in federal transfers and $8.3-billion in resource revenues. In other words, oil and gas revenues (about half of which – $4.1-billion – came from tar sands oil) poured almost as much money into the Alberta treasury as personal income taxes. What provincial government wouldn’t love that? Pretty scathing article saying that AB is basically squandering the use of resources revenues for future Albertans to satisfy low tax demands for the short sighted. I agree entirely.