Alberta's Tax Edge: A Shrinking Advantage

0:00Back in the mid-1990s, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein slashed government spending by 20 percent over two years, acts programs, cut civil, service jobs, and wrote out a flat 10 percent income tax plus low corporate rates. That combo built the province's big economic edge, drawing businesses with cheap taxes and light rules amid oil busts. Fast forward more than 30 years, and that edge is shrinking. After ditched the flat tax in 2015, hiking rates for middle earners above some neighbors like British Columbia and Ontario. Fuel taxes jumped from 9 cents to 13 cents per liter, insurance premiums rose, and property taxes spiked in recent budgets, padding every day, costs. Folks noticed the hit in their wallets. A two-income family with kids pulling in $125,000 pays about $1,800 less yearly in Alberta than in British Columbia. But that's nearly half the savings from 2014. High earners over $370,000 face 48 percent combined taxes, topping Saskatchewan and trailing

1:05U.S. oil states. Like Texas at 37 percent, slowing investment, the February 26 budget revealed a $9.4 billion deficit from $6 billion more spending on public services tied to, immigration surges, and softer oil prices. Starting now eats 17.1 percent of GDP by 202627, way up from 12.8 percent in 2000, 14 and closing gaps with spendier provinces. Experts pin it on runaway spending over tax woes, urging cuts like clients' era instead of new levies. Leaders vowed low taxes and jobs, year reversals keep chipping away at what made Alberta stand out. Local news, powered by AI. This is Calgary News Today, I'm Corey with The Story.