If I’m understanding things correctly, the UCP’s plan all along has been for my tax cut to pay for my tax hike.
A couple of years ago during the provincial election campaign, the United Conservatives campaigned on making life more affordable for Albertans, starting with a cut to personal income taxes. It took a couple of years, but the promised tax cut materialized in February’s budget, a move that saves taxpayers about $750 on their first $60,000 of income.
During that 2023 campaign, Danielle Smith is quoted as saying: “This tax cut will result in real and significant savings that can be put towards housing, life’s other necessities, planning for the future, or whatever else is a priority for Albertans. After all, it’s your money. You earned it, not the government.”
When Smith suggested it go to housing or life’s other necessities, I didn’t realize what she really meant was that it would go to offset the provincial education levy that her government has increased significantly over the past two years.
My municipal tax bill this year includes a provincial education levy of $1,705 whereas two years ago that same levy was $1,075. That’s a $630 increase, or 58 per cent, in just 24 months.
To be fair, my home’s assessment jumped well beyond the average last year which has contributed to the tax hike, but at the end of the day, I’m paying a much larger education levy than I was two years ago.
I’m not alone.
The Town of Okotoks, which isn’t a fan of having to collect the levy on behalf of the provincial government, included an information sheet with this year’s tax bills that not only puts numbers to the scope of the tax grab but makes it abundantly clear that it’s just a middleman in this whole process.
The Town says the education levy increased by 11 per cent last year followed by a 23 per cent jump this year. The most recent hike means the Province will collect $3.8 million more in education taxes from Okotoks property owners this year than it did in 2024.
Put another way, the average home in Okotoks paid $1,321 in education taxes in 2024, a figure that increased to $1,591 this year. That’s a $270 jump for the average home in just one year.
I guess what bothers me most about this situation, beyond having to pay a whole lot more in taxes, is the hypocrisy that’s at play. The provincial government has made a big deal about the income tax cut, saying it would provide meaningful, timely tax relief to Albertans at a time when they need it most, but has been willing to quietly slide large increases to the education levy on the municipal tax bill, knowing full well that local governments will shoulder most of that blame.
Before I run out of room, let me say I’m not too jazzed by the fact the municipal portion of my property tax bill has increased by $722 in the last two years. Yes, part of that is due to the assessment catch-up I experienced, but that can’t explain all of it.
