Alberta Minute: Budget Debates, Spending Increases and Tax Increases

Alberta Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Alberta politics.

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature is sitting again this week and the main focus all week will be the government's budget. The budget was introduced to the Legislature last week, but the debate in the House will likely continue for at least several more days.
  
  
• In addition to being debated in the House, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Committees will be meeting for Estimates (budget) discussion and questions.
  
  
• The Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills will also take some time to debate Bill 204 (Election Recall Act)

Last Week In Alberta:

• It was a very busy week, with both the Federal election on Monday and the Alberta budget on Thursday. The federal election has sparked numerous discussions about Alberta and the West's position in Confederation - something we'll have more to say about in the future.
  
  
• On the spending side of the provincial budget the days of ridiculous spending increases are over, but anyone claiming "austerity" clearly hasn't actually looked at the numbers. Despite a 0.7% reduction in "program spending", total government spending will still increase next year and debt will continue to rise, reaching $93 billion by 2023 (compared to the NDP's plan of $97 billion).

• On the revenue side, the government tried to avoid mentioning it but the budget actually hikes personal income taxes. Income Tax rates are staying the same, but the thresholds at which each rate kicks in will no longer be adjusted for inflation meaning, in real terms, every Albertan will see an income tax increase next year.

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