Quote:
Originally Posted by suburbia
They have been gradual. Fact of the matter is, Alberta is in the sh*t hole because no one has had the courage to introduce a PST here. That was on the tables, but they have deferred. Personally, I wish they would have stuck to their guns on this and actually have implemented. Hate the fact the Calgary residents with off-shore companies don't pay into the system when they buy their $300K cars. Edwards, Balm, etc.
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It would take ~15% PST on top of the existing 5% GST to come close to balancing the budget, assuming no leakage (ex. higher rates forcing more transactions underground). Even without a PST and a poor economy, AB still brings in more revenue per capita than do other provinces. The mess that the NDP inherited is huge overfunding of health and especially education and infrastructure. To close the budget gap, all AB needs to do is lower per capita spending to BC levels. No one has yet to justify the rationale for AB's overfunding and the tangible benefits enjoyed by its residents.