Philip Bazel looks on a sales tax as an acquired taste for Albertans, who so far have shown little interest in acquiring such a taste. Nonetheless, he says a sales tax is a “pretty clean revenue source,” that has fewer negative impacts than other types of taxes. And while Alberta “falls flat” on the sales […]

The June flooding of Calgary and other parts of southern Alberta has been described as “one of the largest natural disasters to ever hit the province”. Thousands of Albertans have been displaced from over 10,000 homes, some of which are damaged beyond repair. Personal losses from the floods are beyond calculation, and total financial losses […]

Managers of federal programs are required to evaluate their programs once every five years. Evaluation results are made public and include an action plan for dealing with any problems identified. Programs found to be inconsistent with government priorities or ineffective in achieving program goals would become candidates for cutbacks as part of the federal government’s […]

It’s budget season once again and governments wanting to narrow budget deficits should not forget about the billions of dollars in spending programs that are delivered through the tax system. Not all of these tax-based spending programs provide value for money. For example, the federal and almost all provincial governments provide inducements to Hollywood film […]