It's about time that someone started to discuss a sales tax.
I've said for years that Alberta's government needs to examine its cash flow realities and adapt to the current situation. For far too long, we've been living in a fiscal lala land where the notion of a sales tax has been taboo - in spite of the reality that just about every other jurisdiction on the continent has one.
4 comments:
As a starting point Alberta should adopt the system used in Norway for its oil royalties by putting all royalties into a non-government controlled fund. This would allow the government to budget without being concerned about fluctuating prices and foreign exchange differences.
Along with a stipulated draw from the fund it could set its tax and other revenue rates according to it's needs. This could well include a sales tax or a tax to raise funds to cover health care costs.
MAS
I don't know that we need a sales tax, when oil is trading where it is and we're subsidizing that industry as much as we are.
With the Stelmach government talking in terms of major cutbacks to programs, I have to argue that the government has a serious cash flow problem.
The real underlying point is that for too long, our government in Alberta has been unwilling to consider ways to restructure its revenue stream so that it sustains the ongoing costs of the government's operations.
Instead, we get a government which is unwilling to do anything except cut programs whenever there's a budget problem.
A sales tax is but one of a variety of tools that should be considered ... which is what commenter MAS is hinting at.
Not a bad idea, but then we should abolish income tax.
We should also stop paying equalization to the rest of the country for our resources.
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