Return to a Single Rate Personal Income Tax Regime

Issue

The improvement of our province’s overall tax competitiveness is a key factor in supporting strong economic growth for Alberta in the near, mid, and long term. Alberta finds itself in the enviable position of having potential significant budgetary surpluses for the foreseeable future as demand for Alberta oil & gas remains strong and prices are projected to be firm over the coming years. Rather than committing these surplus amounts to reactive spending, we believe that it is prudent to break the cycle of spending leading to deficits and debt when resource royalties wane and invest in Albertans by returning to a more efficient and simplified Alberta personal income tax structure. 

Background

In 1999, the Alberta provincial government proposed a net tax reduction of approximately $500 million, which represented about 10.9% of the forecast 1998-99 personal income tax revenue to be generated. The outcome of this proposal was the introduction of an 11% single rate tax to be levied on the taxable income of Albertans. These measures were intended by Alberta Tax and Revenue Administration (ATRA) to become effective in 2001 with an announcement of the changes in the 2000 February budget and were targeted to provide Albertans with a significant reduction in their overall combined federal-provincial personal income tax burden with almost all Albertans realizing some tax savings as a result. 

Our Recommendations

1. Restore the single rate personal income tax regime at a rate equal to 8% of taxable income in excess of a basic personal exemption equal to $21,000; and, 
2. Apply a 50% surtax for high and ultra-high net-worth taxpayers effective for taxable income in excess of the prevailing top marginal bracket amount, which for 2023 is reflected at $235,675.