Entries tagged with
alberta budget
Discussions about Alberta’s $10 billion deficit and estimated debt of $33 billion by 2018-19 have dominated the media since the introduction of Budget 2016. Parkland Institute Research Managers Ian Hussey and Rebecca Graff-McRae argue that revenue, not debt, is the immediate concern coming out of the budget.
Statement by Parkland Institute Executive Director Ricardo Acuña in response to Alberta Budget 2016.
No alternative to a sales tax
Tax measure would help Alberta get back onto a solid financial footing
Alberta must bring in a harmonized sales tax. This is the conclusion reached by myself and 18 economists, political scientists, sociologists and other public policy experts in an article that recently ran in two major Alberta newspapers. Why did we say this?
Put simply, there is no realistic alternative if the province hopes to return to a balanced budget and pay for necessary services.
Despite dire warnings of financial catastrophe from the official opposition, Alberta's deficit and debt levels aren't a problem - at least not yet. Revenue, however, is a problem. Parkland Institute Research Manager Ian Hussey explains.
Here are six things from the new Parkland Institute report, Hard Math, Harder Choices: Alberta’s Budget Reality, that Albertans should know in advance of the October 27 release of the NDP government's Budget 2015.
Alberta government faces hard math in Tuesday’s budget
New report finds budget woes deeper than commonly thought
A new report released today by Parkland Institute finds that the new NDP government has been left with a bleak fiscal reality as it prepares to table its first full budget on Tuesday, with a budget shortfall that could be twice as large as is commonly understood.
Hard Math, Harder Choices
Alberta's Budget Reality
Barring unexpectedly rapid improvements in the energy sector, the Notley government will soon be forced to address the previous government's budgetary legacy; not only the massive revenue hole resulting from the precipitous drop in resource revenues that began in the fall of 2014, but also a structural deficit that emerged even when resource prices were high.
The claim that the Government of Alberta has a spending problem has been a widely held belief in our province for decades, but the claim of out-of-control spending doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
Planks in the platforms
Comparing 11 key policy issues
As we enter the final weekend of Alberta election 2015, Parkland Institute compares the platforms of the four major parties on 11 key policy areas.
One of the most frequently cited numbers during this election is the claim that Alberta's economy will shed 9,000 jobs for every 1% increase in the corporate tax. But does this claim, made by economist Jack Mintz and repeated by both the Wildrose and Progressive Conservatives, really hold up to scrutiny?