If Alberta taxed like other provinces, it would have a huge budget surplus

[chuckChuck]

Saskatchewan has a different approach to taxation and I can assure you the Sask Party are not socialists.

Albertans can choose what they want for provincial tax revenues. And they have chosen to fund core programs with fluctuating boom and bust resource revenues.

Just like in Alaska and Norway, some of those one time resource revenues could be saved for the future and as insurance against the inevitable downturns.

True fiscal conservatives would be more prudent and better managers.

Kenney is now talking about a state owned oil company to invest in more tar sand mines! State owned? That sounds like socialism to me! LOL

[jazz]

Saskatchewan has a different approach to taxation and I can assure you the Sask Party are not socialists.

Kenney is now talking about a state owned oil company to invest in more tar sand mines! State owned? That sounds like socialism to me! LOL

Sask and Ab are two different animals again. Sask is what is considered a hinterland economy. That means companies explore here, pay some royalties, but keep head offices domiciled elsewhere along with high skilled staff and management in other cities. Mostly just skeleton crews here. You can thank the NDP for that one.

Anyway, that is a double edged sword. it has the effect of diluting both our tax base as well as our contribution to equalization. On top of that, Sask has a much higher proportion of private operators than someplace like Ab and I am thinking about farmers and those sorts of local business people. Individual operators can claw a lot of tax revenue back versus wage earners thus diluting the personal tax base and keeping quebecs dirty paws out of our pockets. A top paid engineer in Calgary cant do that but even a small farmer can.

Kenny has no choice but to use govt funding to draw back investment after the cancer that is the LPC drove it all away. But he is going to wield it in a way that slays the equalization scam once and for all.

[chuckChuck]

World oil prices started falling while Harpo was in the PMO. Lets blame Harpo who said Canada would stop using fossil energy by 2100.

Oil prices have gone up and down based on supply and demand since the beginning.

Albertan busts have happened before during Liberal and Conservative governments.

Informed people know high prices lead to over production and lower prices. You can in part thank the US for their shale revolution and increased production.

Kenney is going to put taxpayers dollars at risk in expensive to produce tar sand oil, in a market that may not support it.

Taxpayers will take the risk and private partners will make the profit, if there is any.

Socialism Alberta style.

[Austrian Economics]

"...if Alberta had the tax code of Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Ontario or any other province, it would not currently be running a deficit. Instead, it would have a huge multibillion-dollar surplus."

So why don't Saskatchewan, BC and Ontario have multi-billion dollar surpluses instead of deficits?

All tax increases are bound by the iron law of fiscal politics. They make simple mathematical calculations to assess the impact of a tax hike and ignore the impact on the economy. Thus they exaggerate the potential revenue.

In addition, every time a politician sees what he imagines to be $10 billion heading his way, he will concoct spending plans for $20 billion.

[flea beetle]

World oil prices started falling while Harpo was in the PMO. Lets blame Harpo who said Canada would stop using fossil energy by 2100.

Oil prices have gone up and down based on supply and demand since the beginning.

Albertan busts have happened before during Liberal and Conservative governments.

Informed people know high prices lead to over production and lower prices. You can in part thank the US for their shale revolution and increased production.

Kenney is going to put taxpayers dollars at risk in expensive to produce tar sand oil, in a market that may not support it.

Taxpayers will take the risk and private partners will make the profit, if there is any.

Socialism Alberta style.

Yes he said we would stop using fossil fuels by 2100. But gave a reasonable timeline to phase it out. Trudeau killed oil and gas without having a viable replacement to switch to.

Maybe oil prices have gone down, but the liberal policies designed to hurt oil and gas have majorly exacerbated the problem. Had they left well enough alone, things wouldn’t be half as bad as they are.

[blackpowder]

IMO, most of our govts have failed at future economic sustainability planning.
This involves settling the Indian Act once and for all as well as things like equal representation and utility corridors. Likely the economy would now be benefiting from all of these.
Explain what this current govt has done. I mean really accomplished. On any of these matters. I'm having trouble thinking of one however small, accomplishment.

[macdon02]

IMO, most of our govts have failed at future economic sustainability planning.
This involves settling the Indian Act once and for all as well as things like equal representation and utility corridors. Likely the economy would now be benefiting from all of these.
Explain what this current govt has done. I mean really accomplished. On any of these matters. I'm having trouble thinking of one however small, accomplishment.

They are hanging the carrot as bait. The promise that if you vote for me, I'll fix it. If there's an awakening that they are getting screwed doubly.... it'll be war.

[ajl]

I am probably one of the few on here that supports a sales tax in Alberta. My reason is very simple, I think the majority of non renewable resource revenues should be put into savings. The only way this is possible is to increase other forms of revenue coming into the government. Now I fully appreciate the arguement that increased taxes do not necessarily lead to a balanced budget. Quebec is an interesting example, one of two provinces in Canada with a balanced budget. You could argue that heir high income tax rates and their 9.75% sales tax prove that you can tax to balance. That is all well and good until you add in the $13 billion they recieve from federal equalization which is roughly 12% of their provincial budget. A federal equalization fund that receives a good portion from federal income taxes collected in Alberta, a province with one of the highest average per capita incomes in the country. Without federal equalization Quebec would be running a sizeable deficit. Getting back to Alberta, a sales tax would in my opinion would create a more stable revenue stream to the Alberta government and hopefully one that is less dependent on the price of oil.

I can support this idea as well. A well designed sales tax would eliminate the deficit in Alberta, with only a small hit to Alberta's GDP and average incomes. It would also have the benefit of reducing revenue going to other provinces. No use AB kids inheriting debt while Quebec balances its budget with equalization payments. The other thing that would happen is that producer prices in AB would decline slightly while they would have to raise the prices for the goods they sell in other provinces to compensate. No sales tax in AB while the other territories have them also transfers some wealth from AB to other regions in canuckistan while we rack up debt.

[GALAXIE500]

So life in Saskatchewan under the Sask Party and higher taxes is really bad? LMAO!

There seems to be a lot of Albertan's moving to farm in Saskatchewan and run businesses.

Alberta has mismanaged its resource revenue and government spending. Peter Lougheed is rolling over in his grave.

The main reason people are moving from Alberta to farm is that land is still cheap in Saskatchewan. In my RM ( 141 Bigstick ) we have had S-Alberta farmers come here and buy land , as well as one from Ontario in recent years.

[furrowtickler]

The main reason people are moving from Alberta to farm is that land is still cheap in Saskatchewan. In my RM ( 141 Bigstick ) we have had S-Alberta farmers come here and buy land , as well as one from Ontario in recent years.

Is it cheap here or way overpriced in other areas?
Land was affordable here , makes no sense now, has not for several years.
We will see after this market meltdown where land prices end up in a year . Might stay flat , go up more, correct some ?
Time will tell but capacity to pay for land payments will be severely stressed , that’s guaranteed .

Housing prices crashed in the US because they were way overpriced, not saying it will happen to land but this current situation may be far worse than 2008 .