Alberta
Fraser Institute says Albertans should get annual dividend to promote Heritage Fund
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill and Joel Emes
An Alberta Dividend: The Key to Growing the Heritage Fund
If the government of Alberta wants to build the Heritage Fund over the longer term, it should start paying dividends to Albertans, finds a new study published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent non-partisan Canadian think-tank.
“The Alberta government has promised to ‘re-build’ the Heritage Fund, but it will require a consistent commitment over the long term,” said Tegan Hill, director of Alberta Policy at the Fraser Institute and co-author of An Alberta Dividend: The Key to Growing the Heritage Fund.
In 1976, the province established the Alberta’s Heritage Savings Trust Fund to save a share of the province’s resource revenues to provide ongoing benefits to Albertans. Since its creation, however, resource revenue contributions have only been made in 11 of 48 years of the fund’s existence and just 3.9 per cent of total resource revenue has been deposited to the fund over its lifetime.
Learning from Alaska’s success with its resource revenue savings fund—the Alaska Permanent Fund—the study proposes that Alberta should introduce a dividend to provincial residents to create public buy-in that generates political pressure to adhere to fiscal rules around the Heritage Fund’s operation—such as consistent resource
revenue contributions and inflation-proofing of the fund’s principal—to ensure its growth over time.
For perspective, the Permanent Fund was started the same year as Alberta’s Heritage Fund but has grown to US$78.0 billion in 2022/23—or C$88.6 billion—compared to a balance of just C$19.0 billion in Alberta’s Heritage Fund.
Using two alternatives based on Alaska, which includes mandatory 25 per cent resource revenue contributions and consistent inflation proofing of the fund’s principal, the Heritage Fund has the potential to pay each Albertan a total of $571 to $1,108 in dividends over the next three years—equivalent to $2,284 to $4,430 per family of four.
Under these rules, the Heritage Fund would be worth between $35.8 billion and $38.7 billion by 2026/27, while paying out between $2.9 billion to $5.5 billion in dividends to Albertans.
“As demonstrated in Alaska, by giving citizens an ownership share in the state’s resource fund, they demand that sound rules regarding the governance of the fund be adhered to.” said Hill.
- The Smith government has promised to “re-build” the Heritage Fund so that eventually its earnings are significant enough to replace volatile resource revenue in the budget. While this is a worthy goal, it will require a long-term commitment.
- Building on work from Hill, Emes, and Clemens (2021), this bulletin uses Alaska’s success with its resource revenue savings fund—the Alaska Permanent Fund—to demonstrate how the Smith government can introduce new fiscal rules to ensure growth in the Heritage Fund with a focus on the annual dividend.
- As demonstrated in Alaska, by giving citizens ownership shares in the state resources, they recognize their vested interest and demand that the state maximizes returns from such resources. Put simply, by creating public buy-in, the dividend generates political pressure to enforce robust fiscal rules around the fund’s operation to ensure its growth.
- Using two illustrative models based on the Alaska Permanent Fund, which includes mandatory 25 percent resource revenue contributions and consistent inflation proofing of the fund’s principal, each Albertan could be paid an estimated $148 to $297 in dividends in 2024/25, equivalent to $594 to $1,187 per family of four. From 2024/25 to 2026/27, each Albertan could receive a total of $571 to $1,108 in dividends, equivalent to $2,284 to $4,430 per family of four.
- Under these rules, the Heritage Fund would be worth between $35.8 billion and $38.7 billion by 2026/27, while paying out between $2.9 billion to $5.5 billion in dividends to Albertans.
Authors:
Agriculture
Lacombe meat processor scores $1.2 million dollar provincial tax credit to help expansion
Alberta’s government continues to attract investment and grow the provincial economy.
The province’s inviting and tax-friendly business environment, and abundant agricultural resources, make it one of North America’s best places to do business. In addition, the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit helps attract investment that will further diversify Alberta’s agriculture industry.
Beretta Farms is the most recent company to qualify for the tax credit by expanding its existing facility with the potential to significantly increase production capacity. It invested more than $10.9 million in the project that is expected to increase the plant’s processing capacity from 29,583 to 44,688 head of cattle per year. Eleven new employees were hired after the expansion and the company plans to hire ten more. Through the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit, Alberta’s government has issued Beretta Farms a tax credit of $1,228,735.
“The Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit is building on Alberta’s existing competitive advantages for agri-food companies and the primary producers that supply them. This facility expansion will allow Beretta Farms to increase production capacity, which means more Alberta beef across the country, and around the world.”
“This expansion by Beretta Farms is great news for Lacombe and central Alberta. It not only supports local job creation and economic growth but also strengthens Alberta’s global reputation for producing high-quality meat products. I’m proud to see our government supporting agricultural innovation and investment right here in our community.”
The tax credit provides a 12 per cent non-refundable, non-transferable tax credit when businesses invest $10 million or more in a project to build or expand a value-added agri-processing facility in Alberta. The program is open to any food manufacturers and bio processors that add value to commodities like grains or meat or turn agricultural byproducts into new consumer or industrial goods.
Beretta Farms’ facility in Lacombe is a federally registered, European Union-approved harvesting and meat processing facility specializing in the slaughter, processing, packaging and distribution of Canadian and United States cattle and bison meat products to 87 countries worldwide.
“Our recent plant expansion project at our facility in Lacombe has allowed us to increase our processing capacities and add more job opportunities in the central Alberta area. With the support and recognition from the Government of Alberta’s tax credit program, we feel we are in a better position to continue our success and have the confidence to grow our meat brands into the future.”
Alberta’s agri-processing sector is the second-largest manufacturing industry in the province and meat processing plays an important role in the sector, generating millions in annual economic impact and creating thousands of jobs. Alberta continues to be an attractive place for agricultural investment due to its agricultural resources, one of the lowest tax rates in North America, a business-friendly environment and a robust transportation network to connect with international markets.
Quick facts
- Since 2023, there are 16 applicants to the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit for projects worth about $1.6 billion total in new investment in Alberta’s agri-processing sector.
- To date, 13 projects have received conditional approval under the program.
- Each applicant must submit progress reports, then apply for a tax credit certificate when the project is complete.
- Beretta Farms has expanded the Lacombe facility by 10,000 square feet to include new warehousing, cooler space and an office building.
- This project has the potential to increase production capacity by 50 per cent, thereby facilitating entry into more European markets.
Related information
From Premier Danielle Smith and Alberta.ca/Next
Let’s talk about an Alberta Pension Plan for a minute.
With our young Alberta workforce paying billions more into the CPP each year than our seniors get back in benefits, it’s time to ask whether we stay with the status quo or create our own Alberta Pension Plan that would guarantee as good or better benefits for seniors and lower premiums for workers.
I want to hear your perspective on this idea and please check out the video. Get the facts. Join the conversation.
Visit Alberta.ca/next
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