The UCP government will table legislation next week that will see Alberta’s business tax rate reduced from 12 per cent to 11 per cent on July 1, then fall by a further percentage point each Jan. 1 until it reaches eight per cent in 2022, Premier Jason Kenney announced Monday.
“As of Canada Day, Alberta will have the lowest business tax rate in Canada, and by the time we get to eight points in 2022, we’ll be 45 per cent lower than the next highest tax rate in Canada, making this province a huge magnet for job-creating investment that will get our economy back to work,” he said during a press conference in Edmonton.
Kenney added the move, which he calls the Job Creation Tax Cut, is projected to create “at least 55,000 full-time, private-sector jobs and grow our economy by up to $13 billion.”
The bill will be tabled following the throne speech on May 18.
Legislation will also be tabled to scrap the provincial carbon tax, which Kenney said will be in effect by May 30.
Doing so, said Kenney, “will immediately relieve $1.4 billion in taxes from Albertans, reducing the cost of living, reducing the cost of doing business, and it’s estimated, creating at least 6,000 full-time jobs.”
“These combined efforts are all designed to restore investor confidence and stimulate a surge of job creation,” he said.
“They’ll also help to reverse the flow of investment and jobs to the United States that we’ve seen over recent years.”
