Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says ahead of the August 31, 2022, fiscal update that Alberta's finances are back in order. (Image: The Canadian Press)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Provincial Politics

Alberta on track for $13.2B surplus, Kenney says ahead of fiscal update

Aug 30, 2022 | 4:55 PM

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says based on first-quarter projections for the current fiscal year that the province is on track for a $13.2-billion budget surplus.

He says in a video posted on Twitter that the surplus is due in large part to soaring commodity prices and royalty revenue.

When the Alberta Government presented its 2022 Budget on February 24, it was forecast that the province would see a budget surplus of $515 million.

“We never would have had a balanced budget on the books this year had it not been for getting our spending under control and the broader growth in Alberta’s economy,” says Kenney.

Kenney says one of the “painful” decisions the government had to make in order to get Alberta’s finances back on track was to temporarily pause the indexation of Alberta’s personal income taxes.

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Tax indexation is where the income tax brackets are raised so Albertans are not winding up in higher tax brackets due to inflation and guaranteed pay increases. Pausing this meant that some Albertans ended up paying higher personal income taxes.

Kenney says the government is now able to restore full indexation this year.

“That means, when you file your taxes at the end of this fiscal year, you will see more money stay in your pocket as a result. In fact, it will benefit the average taxpayer by about $300,” says Kenney.

Meantime, NDP Finance Critic Shannon Phillips issued the following statement in response to Premier Jason Kenney announcing the government will reindex personal income taxes to inflation:

“The UCP government deindexed personal income taxes in their first budget, which increased income taxes on Albertans, and then lied about it for the next three and a half years.

“This tax increase has cost Albertans hundreds of millions in additional taxes during the worst affordability crisis in 40 years. Today’s announcement fails to give all of that money back to Albertans who need it to afford food, housing, utilities, and car insurance. All of these costs have risen steeply thanks to the UCP.

“While it’s good to see the UCP’s finally reverse their terrible decision to increase income taxes on Albertans, it’s only one of several ways they have made life more expensive. They have also increased property taxes, school fees, tuition, interest on student debt, medical exams for seniors, camping and park fees, utilities, and auto insurance. At the same time the UCP has cut AISH, the Seniors Benefit, and the Child and Family Benefit.

“If the UCP was serious about helping Albertans struggling to make ends meet, they would reverse all of their fee hikes immediately.”

(With files from rdnewsNOW)