The provincial government says Albertans will not see new taxes or a tax increase this year.
This announcement came last week from Finance Minister Doug Horner during the presentation of the $43 billion Alberta budget. Different groups have weighed in with their opinion and while some are not happy with the government’s spending, others appear pleased with funding that has not been removed.
Both the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC) appear in favour of the recent budget announcement.
Ponoka County, a member of AAMDC, will see little change to their provincial grants, says CAO Charlie Cutforth. The registered road grant and the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding have been amalgamated. “If you combine those two grants, then the amount we’re eligible for under MSI grants remain the same.”
MSI funding will stay at $901 million and the Regional Collaboration Grant has increased to $49 million, up $20 million from last year. Increases of funding for seniors’ programs also saw a slight increase, which the AAMDC feels is beneficial to rural communities.
A press release by AUMA president Helen Rice, of which the Town of Ponoka is a member, says the group is pleased with Premier Allison Redford’s commitment to striking the Premier’s Council by September 2014.
“We were pleased that the Premier recognized the AUMA as a partner with the province, not a stakeholder to serve the citizens of Alberta,” the statement quoted Rice as saying.
Mayor Rick Bonnett says MSI funding is similar to last year for municipalities and he did not expect a major increase in funding.
He intends to speak with the government at upcoming Municipal Government Act reviews about education property taxes. “We need to have that discussion on the education portion of the education property tax.”
Bonnett feels rather than having a separate education property tax, funds for education should come out of regular property taxes. There have been some questions on the Alberta Government borrowing money for large projects. Bonnett feels this is not unlike a person who borrows money to buy a home or a corporation that borrows money to invest in a new product.
He added though that the province is here to provide services, not a product to ratepayers.
Wildrose Party speaks against government spending
Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Rod Fox is unhappy with the provincial government “continuing down this path of debt.”
Fox is the MLA from the Wildrose Party, the official opposition to the Progressive Conservatives, which responded to the recent budget announcement. According to Fox, the government is forecast to see $21 billion in debt by 2016-17.
Despite this spending Fox, says they expect a record year in revenue at $44.4 billion for 2014-15. The Wildrose Party has released information saying the annual interest on the debt alone is going to be $820 million in 2016-17.
Part of Fox’s issue is how the budget is presented; there is an operational, capital and savings plan presented to Albertans, which can be confusing. “To get a true sense of what’s going on you have to look at all three at once.”
He calculates this year’s debt at debt at $2.7 billion.
Budget numbers in brief
Budget 2014 shows an operational surplus of $2.6 billion and zero dollars in operational borrowing but capital spending is at $6.6 billion.
The province forecasts non-renewable royalties at $9.2 billion, more than $500 million higher than last year.
Tax revenues
Personal income tax revenue is estimated at $11.2 billion and corporate income tax is estimated at $5.5 billion. Education property tax is estimated to increase to $1.9 billion, up $45 million from last year. The Alberta government says as a result of this increase, education property tax mill rates are being reduced approximately by 4.5 per cent.
Savings
The Heritage Savings Trust Fund is forecast to increase to $15.1 billion, up $100 million from last year.