- CTF releases submission to Mintz commission on savings

Opportunity (almost) Lost

EDMONTON: In its submission to the Alberta government Financial Investment and Planning Advisory Commission, chaired by Dr. Jack Mintz, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) recommends the Alberta government significantly increase savings of resource revenues to avoid deficit budgets, program cuts and tax hikes.

CTF- Alberta director Scott Hennig submitted the report last week to the commission. The report, entitled "Opportunity (almost) Lost," once again shows how the Stelmach government will be facing budget deficits in the next two-to-five years if spending growth each year continues to outpace revenue growth.

The CTF submission calls on the Stelmach government to take immediate action to reduce the amount of resource revenues budgeted for spending each year, and create a savings formula that would eventually put 100 per cent of resource revenues into savings.

"Successive Alberta governments have been addicted to the revenues derived from the sale of oil and gas which puts Albertans public services like health care and education at the whim of the world price of oil," stated Hennig. "We must get off this unsustainable roller-coaster."

The CTF's plan would roll-back the level of resource revenue allowed for spending under the Fiscal Responsibility Act to $0 by 2018-19, with all other resource revenues flowing into a newly created Future Fund.

According to the models created by the CTF, if the Alberta government begins saving now, and introduces a spending freeze for Budget 2008, Alberta could be completely non-reliant on oil and gas revenues by 2018 when the Future Fund reaches a balance of $85-billion.

The CTF is also calling on the Alberta government to put the savings formula to the voters in a referendum, as was done for the Alaska Fund in 1976 - now worth almost $40-billion.

In total, the CTF makes five recommendations to the Mintz Commission. Copies of "Opportunity (almost) Lost" can be found on-line by clicking HERE or by contacting the Alberta office at 1-800-661-0187.