Read the NDP’s lips: No Alberta sales tax, at least for now
Sales tax is the vampire of Alberta politics. Countless stakes are aimed at its heart, but the idea never dies.
And it never will, as long as this province runs a deficit of $10.8 billion and spends far more per capita than a province like B.C., while collecting much less overall tax revenue.
Brian Mason, the NDP house leader, said he’s not aware of any sales tax plan when he talked about the new legislature session Wednesday.
But he also managed to be ambiguous in the way New Democrats have. They are not, after all, any great foes of taxation.
“I am not aware of any plans in the government to consider sales taxes,” Mason told reporters.
“I’m not the person to ask about whether or not we would run on that. I think that’s something you should ask the premier.
“I think we need to tread very carefully, and I need to tread very carefully on that matter, and I am.”
Mason was more than careful. He was tiptoeing through a field of cow pies. All he really said was that if anything is going on, he’s in the dark.
So we took his advice and asked the premier, who was set to come back from Washington. Her spokeswoman, Cheryl Oates, replied to written questions via text messages.
The first question was: “Is there any thought of a sales tax in this term, or campaigning on it in the election, or imposing it in a second term?”
Oates answered: “We have no plans to introduce a sales tax in this term. When it comes to our election campaign, we do not have a plan to campaign on a sales tax. We wouldn’t introduce it second term without running on it.”
The next poke was: “But some will say you didn’t campaign on a carbon tax either.”
Oates replied: “We campaigned on a plan to combat climate change, though. Then we took the best advice possible in order to move forward on that plan.”
The followup seemed obvious. “But if you campaign on a lower deficit (in 2019), would you not have to mention a sales tax as a way of lowering the deficit?”
The response: “We’re two years out. There are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to what we campaign on in 2019. We’re slowly and carefully reducing our deficit without a sales tax.”
So you see, it’s never quite a complete and unconditional “no.” It hasn’t been ever since Alberta began running big deficits. Every premier since the PCs’ Alison Redford has given a sales tax some thought, only to reject it as too politically dangerous.
Today, the NDP loves to point out that Alberta’s total tax per capita is the lowest in the country. Some Albertans don’t believe that, but even B.C. acknowledged the fact in its recent budget.
This is great for encouraging new business, especially during a recession.
But the deficit and rising debt are real problems. When all obligations are included, the province owes $74 billion, according to the most recent quarterly report.
So far, the NDP shows no desire to use new revenue to cut the deficit. Despite some cash gains in the third quarter, the government actually increased spending.
The new carbon tax does nothing to lower the deficit. All the revenue goes back out in consumer rebates or spending to create a green economy.
A recent CBC report showed that Alberta spends $2,700 more per person than B.C., while collecting $1,300 per person less tax.
The staggering difference, partly due to B.C.’s seven per cent sales tax, explains why our neighbour runs surpluses while Alberta faces a monster deficit.
The conservative response to the B.C. comparison is predictable — spend less. New Democrats tend to think — hmm, looks like we could tax more.
Both things will eventually have to happen in this province. And the NDP, having imposed one tax it didn’t mention, can’t elude the suspicion that it might try again.
We’re slowly and carefully reducing our deficit without a sales tax.