Alberta
Alberta has an opportunity like never before
As the world’s energy debate continues to grow, with climate change and the economy both sources of large concern to many, there is often a divide both politically and regionally and Canada is no different.
Places like Alberta, with an economy that has been largely centered around the oil and gas sector for decades, is a Canadian province quite often at odds with the Canadian government for its desire to put in place renewable energy policies like carbon taxes and hold off on pipelines.
There are abundant sources of renewable energy in Alberta that could provide jobs and a pathway out of its current situation. Despite being intermittent, Alberta’s wind and solar potential is very apparent. However, to scale it to the level necessary to stop burning massive amounts of coal and natural gas, we will need large battery backups to store power in order to combat the intermittency issues of wind and solar.
These investments can be made, and I would argue the more the province opens up space on the grid, the more foreign investment we will see.
But this is also a tough pill to swallow when you have companies built from the ground up for decades, employing hundreds of thousands of people who have been educated and trained in what they do. Alberta as a province enjoyed strong growth for decades, providing hundreds of billions of dollars to the Federal Government to help balance the books and provide health care for millions of Canadians.
Geothermal is famously used in Iceland and in California at the world’s largest facility, the Geysers Geothermal Complex, which has a 1517 MW capacity. Geothermal energy has limitations for growth due to requiring locations to tap into volcanic aquifers, which it had not been able to overcome until now. Eavor Technologies Inc. uses a completely different method for their production. They use a closed loop system and do not rely on traditional wells or pumps. They are able to drill two vertical wells, connect them together underground and essentially create a conductive radiator with many parallel lines to cover a large amount of ground without the volcanic aquifers. Their unique IP uses an environmentally safe fluid that circulates using the thermosyphon effect. As the hot fluid rises through the outlet well, the change in pressure forces the cool fluid to drop through the inlet well, creating continuous circulation without the need for a parasitic pump. The Eavor-Loop completely isolates the fluid from the surrounding environment and produces zero GHG emissions, making the entire process carbon neutral. For extra appeal, this can all be done by the same Alberta drilling rig operators that do not get to work as much as they once did, putting oil and gas companies back to work.
This means Alberta, famous for its oil industry, has the potential to become famous for an entirely renewable grid with a mix of Eavor-Loops, solar, wind and battery storage. It also gives us the ability to grow an Alberta made technology in Eavor loop for export. This unique opportunity for economic diversification and expansion aligns simultaneously with both environmental and economic concerns, presenting a balanced approach to the climate question without compromising on existing Alberta jobs and infrastructure
Brian Scott
Clean Energy Advocate
For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary.
Alberta
Alberta government should create flat 8% personal and business income tax rate in Alberta
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill
If the Smith government reversed the 2015 personal income tax rate increases and instituted a flat 8 per cent tax rate, it would help restore Alberta’s position as one of the lowest tax jurisdictions in North America
Over the past decade, Alberta has gone from one of the most competitive tax jurisdictions in North America to one of the least competitive. And while the Smith government has promised to create a new 8 per cent tax bracket on personal income below $60,000, it simply isn’t enough to restore Alberta’s tax competitiveness. Instead, the government should institute a flat 8 per cent personal and business income tax rate.
Back in 2014, Alberta had a single 10 per cent personal and business income tax rate. As a result, it had the lowest top combined (federal and provincial/state) personal income tax rate and business income tax rate in North America. This was a powerful advantage that made Alberta an attractive place to start a business, work and invest.
In 2015, however, the provincial NDP government replaced the single personal income tax rate of 10 percent with a five-bracket system including a top rate of 15 per cent, so today Alberta has the 10th-highest personal income tax rate in North America. The government also increased Alberta’s 10 per cent business income tax rate to 12 per cent (although in 2019 the Kenney government began reducing the rate to today’s 8 per cent).
If the Smith government reversed the 2015 personal income tax rate increases and instituted a flat 8 per cent tax rate, it would help restore Alberta’s position as one of the lowest tax jurisdictions in North America, all while saving Alberta taxpayers $1,573 (on average) annually.
And a truly integrated flat tax system would not only apply a uniform tax 8 per cent rate to all sources of income (including personal and business), it would eliminate tax credits, deductions and exemptions, which reduce the cost of investments in certain areas, increasing the relative cost of investment in others. As a result, resources may go to areas where they are not most productive, leading to a less efficient allocation of resources than if these tax incentives did not exist.
Put differently, tax incentives can artificially change the relative attractiveness of goods and services leading to sub-optimal allocation. A flat tax system would not only improve tax efficiency by reducing these tax-based economic distortions, it would also reduce administration costs (expenses incurred by governments due to tax collection and enforcement regulations) and compliance costs (expenses incurred by individuals and businesses to comply with tax regulations).
Finally, a flat tax system would also help avoid negative incentives that come with a progressive marginal tax system. Currently, Albertans are taxed at higher rates as their income increases, which can discourage additional work, savings and investment. A flat tax system would maintain “progressivity” as the proportion of taxes paid would still increase with income, but minimize the disincentive to work more and earn more (increasing savings and investment) because Albertans would face the same tax rate regardless of how their income increases. In sum, flat tax systems encourage stronger economic growth, higher tax revenues and a more robust economy.
To stimulate strong economic growth and leave more money in the pockets of Albertans, the Smith government should go beyond its current commitment to create a new tax bracket on income under $60,000 and institute a flat 8 per cent personal and business income tax rate.
Author:
Alberta
Province to stop municipalities overcharging on utility bills
Making utility bills more affordableAlberta’s government is taking action to protect Alberta’s ratepayers by introducing legislation to lower and stabilize local access fees. Affordability is a top priority for Alberta’s government, with the cost of utilities being a large focus. By introducing legislation to help reduce the cost of utility bills, the government is continuing to follow through on its commitment to make life more affordable for Albertans. This is in addition to the new short-term measures to prevent spikes in electricity prices and will help ensure long-term affordability for Albertans’ basic household expenses.
Local access fees are functioning as a regressive municipal tax that consumers pay on their utility bills. It is unacceptable for municipalities to be raking in hundreds of millions in surplus revenue off the backs of Alberta’s ratepayers and cause their utility bills to be unpredictable costs by tying their fees to a variable rate. Calgarians paid $240 in local access fees on average in 2023, compared to the $75 on average in Edmonton, thanks to Calgary’s formula relying on a variable rate. This led to $186 million more in fees being collected by the City of Calgary than expected.
To protect Alberta’s ratepayers, the Government of Alberta is introducing the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024. If passed, this legislation would promote long-term affordability and predictability for utility bills by prohibiting the use of variable rates when calculating municipalities’ local access fees. Variable rates are highly volatile, which results in wildly fluctuating electricity bills. When municipalities use this rate to calculate their local access fees, it results in higher bills for Albertans and less certainty in families’ budgets. These proposed changes would standardize how municipal fees are calculated across the province, and align with most municipalities’ current formulas.
If passed, the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 would prevent municipalities from attempting to take advantage of Alberta’s ratepayers in the future. It would amend sections of the Electric Utilities Act and Gas Utilities Act to ensure that the Alberta Utilities Commission has stronger regulatory oversight on how these municipal fees are calculated and applied, ensuring Alberta ratepayer’s best interests are protected.
If passed, this legislation would also amend sections of the Alberta Utilities Commission Act, the Electric Utilities Act, Government Organizations Act and the Regulated Rate Option Stability Act to replace the terms “Regulated Rate Option”, “RRO”, and “Regulated Rate Provider” with “Rate of Last Resort” and “Rate of Last Resort Provider” as applicable. Quick facts
Related information |
-
Business2 days ago
Maxime Bernier warns Canadians of Trudeau’s plan to implement WEF global tax regime
-
International1 day ago
UN attacks stay-at-home motherhood as ‘gender inequality’
-
COVID-191 day ago
WHO Official Admits the Truth About Passports
-
Censorship Industrial Complex9 hours ago
Desperate Liberals move to stop MPs from calling Trudeau ‘corrupt’
-
Alberta1 day ago
Province to stop municipalities overcharging on utility bills
-
Energy1 day ago
Anti-LNG activists have decided that they now actually care for LNG investors after years of calling to divest
-
Housing17 hours ago
Trudeau’s 2024 budget could drive out investment as housing bubble continues
-
Alberta16 hours ago
Alberta government should create flat 8% personal and business income tax rate in Alberta