Kris Sims is the Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.The provincial government is trying to cover its overspending by hiking taxes and creating brand new ones.The UCP government is adding another $9.4 billion to the province’s staggering debt, which is on pace to hit more than $100 billion for the first time in our province’s history.Instead of slashing the size of the bloated government and axing waste, the government is sticking taxpayers with new bills.There’s a hiked tax on hotels, a new tax on rental cars, and a stunning provincial property tax increase.First, let’s assess the taxes on people who travel.The provincial government is hitting car rentals with a new six percent tax , and it’s hiking its hotel tax up to six percent.The finance department will attempt to spin this as just a “tax on tourists,” and since we won’t see them again, it’s ok to pillage their pockets for booty.But that’s not the true story, matey..About 80 percent of folks who rent cars and stay in hotels in Alberta are residents of Alberta, so these tax hikes will just hurt Albertans.Think of all the reasons people rent cars and stay in hotels.Folks do this for family trips, work events, and even insurance reasons. Many employers get their staff to rent cars and stay in hotels while on the job, so this will also hurt Alberta businesses, apart from the hotels and car rental agencies.Someone who’s been in a car crash will also pay more to rent a temporary ride.The hotel tax hike means families taking their kids to Drumheller or West Edmonton Mall will have to shell out more money. Workers in sectors from the oil sands to the rodeo circuit will be paying more for a room while travelling on the job.People driving from Sundre up to Edmonton to watch an Oilers game will get hit with higher costs, and the same goes for people driving in from High River to watch the Stampeders.Alberta parents who are driving around the province attending their kids’ sports meets will also be paying more for those busy team hotel stays.This is a disproportionate tax hike on rural and smaller-town Albertans who are on the road more often..The province estimates it will collect about $36 million from the vehicle rental tax and about $200 million from the hiked hotel tax in 2026-27.The government is hiking taxes on Albertans when they leave their house.The government is also hiking taxes on Albertans for the house they own.Education Property Tax rates will rise to $2.84 per $1,000 for residential and farmland properties, and $4.17 per $1,000 for non-residential properties.The average home sale price in Alberta is about $513,000.Those property owners will be paying about $1,457 in the Educational Property Tax to the provincial government, with some variance for valuation.That cost doesn’t include the municipal tax bill or other taxes.Most people reckon that property taxes are imposed by city halls, so this Education Property Tax hike, imposed by the province, is particularly sneaky. .The provincial government estimates it will capture an additional $468 million due to this property tax hike, with the total education property tax bill hitting $3.6 billion for 2026-27.Western Standard readers will recall the strike by teachers who are employed at government schools that happened in the fall.The union was demanding more money.The government was already spending $8.6 billion updating schools and building new ones, while offering a contract that made Alberta teachers the highest paid in Western Canada.The union still insisted on $2 billion more.It’s a good reminder for Alberta taxpayers that when a government union demands more money, that money only comes from one place: your wallet.Spending on kindergarten to grade 12 education has increased by 13.6 percent over the last two years, and that money is now being yanked from the bank accounts of homeowners from Blairmore to Fort Mac.Instead of mugging taxpayers for money, the government should have cut wasteful spending..If the government had pruned the size of the bureaucracy back to pre 2020 levels, it would have saved billions. If the government had reduced the number of directors at Alberta Health Services who are on the sunshine list in half, it would have saved about $28 million.The government didn’t even bother to stop absurd waste, such as arts foundation funding that makes transit station window decorations out of garbage food containers taped to old Christmas tinsel.Instead, the UCP government hiked funding for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts by $3.5 million, and it’s planning on handing over $43 million in taxpayers’ money to that same group next year.This government didn’t bother saving money in the budget.It didn’t even pick the low-hanging fruit.Instead, it’s hiking taxes on Albertans and hoping that we won’t notice.Kris Sims is the Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
