Many economists agree that eliminating Alberta’s $6.9-billion deficit would require either a 12 per cent cut in government spending or a seven per cent sales tax, or some combination of the two.
A 10 per cent flat tax would reduce revenues a further $1.5 billion per year.
Reducing the corporate tax from 12 to eight per cent would lose another $1 billion, and eliminating the carbon tax, another $1.5 billion.
There is still the $56-billion debt, which is projected to rise to $96 billion by 2023-2024. Eliminating the debt will require even more sacrifices. Albertans will have to make a choice soon.
Albertans pay the lowest taxes in Canada, have the highest per capita incomes of any province, have the highest GDP per capita, and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in Canada by far: Alberta, seven per cent; B.C., 15 per cent and Ontario, 37.1 per cent.
Using B.C.’s and Saskatchewan’s tax regimes, Alberta could raise an additional $11 billion per year. Of course, there is always the route of massive spending cuts.
There are no easy solutions to a problem that has been 20 years in the making.
Ray Kowalski, Sylvan Lake