A defiant Ed Stelmach broke ranks with some of his own senior cabinet ministers on Tuesday, declaring that under his watch, taxes will never increase to help the Government of Alberta escape from its multibillion-dollar deficit that has a deepening fiscal hole.
One day after some of his most trusted ministers said that both tax hikes and program cuts are need to address the government's revenue crunch, Premier Ed Stelmach said that his government won't hike personal or corporate taxes, and also vowed NEVER to adopt a provincial sales tax.
In addition to that, Mr. Stelmach also rescinded the recent liquor tax hike, which was the first mark-up since 2002. Mr. Stelmach also stated that he is tired of repeated musings that increasing taxes is almost unavoidable as the government tries to handle deficits that are expected to exceed $10 billion over the next four years.
"As long as I'm premier of this province, there will be no tax increases. Simple. That's a very clear message I sent to cabinet, a very clear message to my caucus," a pissed-off Stelmach told reporters. "You cannot tax your way out of a recession, and we're not going to do that."
Mr. Stelmach said his focus is growing the provincial economy and creating a stronger investment climate, which he insisted can't happen if taxes increase. Of course, the Liberal finance critic Dave Taylor said that the Conservative government has changed their fiscal message so many times since the beginning of the downturn, he is no longer convinced that today's no-tax-hike pledge is the final word.
"If he had been more consistent about this all the way along the line, I might be more convinced that this was the way the future is going to unfold," Taylor said.
A defiant Ed Stelmach broke ranks with some of his own senior cabinet ministers on Tuesday, declaring that under his watch, taxes will never increase to help the Government of Alberta escape from its multibillion-dollar deficit that has a deepening fiscal hole.
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