Prentice downplays EPA report on Keystone
Posted Feb 3, 2015 6:11 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
While measures such as restructuring public employee contracts and introducing a progressive tax are possibilities in boosting Alberta’s revenues, Premier Jim Prentice says hiking corporate tax rates is not one of them.
Speaking in Washington Tuesday, Prentice said he’s gotten a wide range of input on how to fix Alberta’s economic downturn, but he doesn’t support changing corporate taxes.
“Other Canadian provinces have caught up to the Alberta Advantage and I think it would be unwise at this point to increase our corporate income tax,” he said. “It will simply result in less investment, fewer jobs and it will contribute to a decline in the Alberta economy, I think it would be the wrong thing to do at this point at time.”
Alberta’s current rate of 10 per cent is the lowest in the country.
Prentice also recently effectively ruled out the introduction of a sales tax, but changing the current flat tax to a progressive one is still on the table.
As for discussions with public employees, Prentice says conversations are currently underway, but there is not currently a fiscal plan with regards to rollbacks.
