By Rachel Emmanuel
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley’s proposal to hike corporate taxes would result in Alberta shedding 33,700 jobs, according to economist Jack Mintz with the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.
The NDP released a costed economic platform on Tuesday, which forecasts a $3.3-billion surplus over three years. It also included a nearly 40% increase to the business tax rate from 8% to 11% to increase revenue.
In a column for the National Post, Jack Mintz explained how he estimated the economic impact using a tax-rate model he developed several years ago.
That estimate determined that the large three-point hike in Alberta’s corporate income tax rate would result in an investment loss of $1.1 billion to Alberta — and an employment loss of 33,700 jobs.
“This is a conservative estimate since I don’t include the impact of corporate tax hikes on available cash needed by businesses to pay their bills,” Mintz wrote.
Mintz also noted that Notley’s tax hike would come at a time when corporations will already start paying more corporate taxes.