Good news for Whitecourt in 2015 budget, says VanderBurg

By Susan Hofforth

The 2015 budget may have come as a shock to some, but there is a lot of good news in there. There was a health care levy, but it will be based on income. No sales tax was included, but $1/2 billion in revenue yearly will come from higher consumption taxes on fuels, liquor, and tobacco and, according to Finance Minister Robin Campbell, Alberta has the lowest tax burden in Canada.

“The budget means something different to each,” said Whitecourt MLA George VanderBurg “For the individual it means higher taxes, but for the communities, and Whitecourt especially, there is a lot to celebrate.”

“I don’t know of any community that has come out of this as well as Whitecourt Ste-Anne,” he continued. “We are one of eight out of 400 communities in Alberta singled out for improvements in health facilities.”

He pointed out that this budget provides $25 million for the new Onoway High School where ground was broken last week. Similar amounts have been provided for the new high school for Living Waters, and a new Seniors Centre housing project. Highway upgrades and other maintenance costs have been well funded in the plans, including money to fight river erosion on the Athabasca River, announced on Thursday, April 2.

VanderBurg expects that an election will be called soon. There has been a fundamental change in the way the budget was formed this time. In this budget, the government has moved away from reliance on oil and gas. Half of the revenues will be coming from other sources. To be sure he has the mandate of the people, Premier Jim Prentice will want to hold an election in the near future.

Some criticism has come to the government for not raising corporate taxes in this year’s budget, but VanderBurg believes that corporate tax must be kept low, and he knows he has the support of his constituents. A raise in corporate tax would be a cost passed down to the individual as businesses balance their books by reducing costs and laying off employees. “Every one per cent raised in corporate taxes means 9,000 job losses,” he said.

“There is wide support in Alberta for keeping corporate taxes low. Many businesses have moved here because of our competitive tax rate. As well, higher corporate tax hits small businesses hard and I am not prepared to tell them to stop investing in our economy.”