CALGARY, AB: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is looking for a plan to balance the books and a commitment to not raise taxes in the 2021 Alberta budget which will be released on Feb. 25, 2021.

“Taxpayers are looking for two things in the upcoming budget: a plan to balance the books and no tax hikes,” said Franco Terrazzano, the CTF’s Alberta Director. “A pandemic and economic downturn is no time to be increasing taxes and that means Finance Minister Travis Toews needs to cancel his bracket creep income tax hike.”

Today, Premier Jason Kenney announced that the budget will be released on Feb. 25, 2021.

The CTF is looking for two commitments in the 2021 budget:

1. No tax hikes; and,
2. A plan to balance the budget.

The CTF is calling on the government to end bracket creep which would increase income taxes in 2021. Bracket creep happens when governments stop indexing tax brackets with inflation, which can push taxpayers into higher tax brackets even though they can’t actually afford to buy more. Bracket creep also allows inflation to erode the tax-free portion of incomes.

The CTF is also calling for balanced budget targets which would include financial penalties for MLAs if the targets are missed.

“There should be financial consequences for overspending and dragging taxpayers further into debt,” said Terrazzano. “If politicians can’t meet their budget targets that should be reflected in their pay.”