Higher taxes are coming for Albertans in 2022, says the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
“Albertans struggling with high inflation and problems posed by the pandemic will get hit one more time in the New Year because politicians are hiking taxes,” said Kevin Lacey, CTF Alberta director.
“If the government of Alberta could do one thing this year it would be to end the sneaky backdoor tax grab called bracket creep.”
In its 2019 budget, the Alberta government brought in a sneaky income tax hike known as bracket creep. Bracket creep happens when governments don’t move tax brackets with inflation and inflation automatically bumps taxpayers into a higher tax bracket even though they can’t actually afford to buy more, said Lacey.
As a member of Parliament, Jason Kenney wrote a column in the Calgary Herald referring to bracket creep as a “hidden and regressive tax grab,” Lacey said.
“A pandemic is the worst time for politicians to raise taxes, but they’re asking struggling Albertans to pay higher income taxes, carbon taxes and even booze taxes,” said Lacey. “It’s time for the government to stop nickel and diming taxpayers and understand the pressures that working Albertans are under.
“Taxes should be going down, not up.”
In 2022, bracket creep will cost an Alberta taxpayer between $44.50 and $141.13, depending on income. Since 2020, bracket creep will have cost taxpayers making up to $105,000 another $105.73.
Some of the tax changes coming are as follows:
•A Canada Pension Plan tax increase will cost workers and businesses an extra $333 each in 2022.
•An Employment Insurance tax increase will cost each worker an extra $63 in 2022 and businesses an extra $89.
•An increase in the federal personal basic amount will save taxpayers $89.
•The federal carbon tax will increase for the third time during the pandemic to 11 cents per litre of gasoline on April 1, 2022.
•Alcohol taxes will increase for the third time during the pandemic on April 1, 2022. Taxes already account for about half of the price of beer, 65 per cent of the price of wine and more than three quarters of the price of spirits.