by Morinville News Staff
Alberta lost 243,800 jobs in April, following 117,100 job losses in March. Friday’s news that Alberta’s unemployment of 13.4% in April, among the highest in Canada, has the Canadian Taxpayers Federation warning politicians that those numbers show Albertans can’t afford tax hikes.
“Today’s [Friday’s] job numbers show that there’s no way Albertans can afford higher taxes and governments need to remember this when they are putting together their economic recovery plans,” said Alberta Director for the CTF Franco Terrazzano. “Governments must do all they can to make sure they are not increasing taxes because the thousands of jobless Albertans and many tapped-out small businesses don’t have any more money to give.”
Alberta’s April unemployment is the third highest in Canada next to Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador; however, Calgary’s unemployment rate is higher than every other major Canadian city at 10.8%.
The CTF is calling on Alberta’s municipal governments to step-back any planned property tax hikes and for the provincial government to reject any calls for new tax hikes.
“Higher taxes must be a non-starter, instead politicians must do everything they can to keep more money in Albertans’ pockets,” Terrazzano said.
Exactly… just got my property tax assessment…. property value gone down… but our taxes sure did go up. Horrible timing when our family of 4 is living off $850 every two weeks during this Covid crisis
Everyone should ask our Mayor why he supported a tax increase of 2.6% when many of the other municipalities are trying to reduce the tax increase or hold it to the same as last year.
I enjoy living in Morinville, yet this town has been heading in the wrong direction in the last few years. Property values decreasing and yearly increases in residential tax. And I am unsure how well this town will do attracting new businesses with the boom that has come down in the last two years. There’s always hope!