EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) announced today a new campaign to abolish Alberta's "health care premium" tax, from which $913 million flow into Alberta General Revenues each year. This amounts to 4% of $21.9 billion in provincial government revenues.

"This tax is deceitful because it has nothing to do with health care. Health care premium taxes go into the government's general revenues just like the hotel room tax, personal income tax, fuel tax, and so on," stated CTF-Alberta director John Carpay.

At $528 per year, this flat tax must be paid in full by individuals earning $16,000 or more per year. Families with children must pay $1,056 per year if earning $34,250 or more per year. Alberta and B.C. are the only two provinces which charge a per-person fixed tax with the name "health care" associated with it. In both provinces the revenues from the tax go into General Revenues.

It costs the Alberta government $13 million per year to collect the health care premium tax, for printing, postage, income verification, banking charges, computer systems, and collection agencies.

The CTF has begun circulating a petition throughout Alberta, also posted on its web site at www.taxpayer.com. The petition calls on Premier Klein to abolish the $1,056-per-family ($528-per-individual) tax, and to reduce program spending by 4%. After a 4% spending cut, Alberta would still be spending more on programs, per person, than B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and other provinces.

"This tax is unnecessary because this government doesn't need the extra nine hundred and thirteen million dollars per year. That money would be better left in the pockets of the Albertans who earned it, instead of being spent by politicians and bureaucrats," added Carpay.

"This tax is regressive because it hits the lower-income and middle-income Albertans who can least afford it. This is fundamentally different from Alberta's single-rate ten percent income tax, which is progressive without being punitive," added Carpay.