UPDATED: Alberta government introduces bill to implement parts of Budget 2024

Budget 2024 was the first punch and now the Alberta government is moving in for another swing. The Alberta government has unveiled the Financial Statutes Amendment Act (FSAA) to authorize components of Budget 2024 to try to support people’s health and safety and economic growth. “Budget 2024 is built for today and tomorrow,” said Alberta Treasury Board President and Finance Minister Nate Horner in a Tuesday press release. “This legislation would allow us to make needed progress and position the province for even more economic success and financial stability for generations to come.”At the moment, the Alberta government said the province is the economic engine of Canada, attracting investments and creating jobs as it continues to grow. It added the FSAA is intended to try to help attract talent to fill labour shortages, enhance the competitiveness of the film and television industry, improve flexibility in government financial reporting, attract investment across industries and implement other changes to fulfill Budget 2024 commitments. To keep the economy moving forward, it said it has to address labour shortages. Therefore, it acknowledged the Alberta is Calling Attraction Bonus (AICAB) it is moving forward on could attract more talent to support Alberta’s economy. Amending the Alberta Personal Income Tax Act would match the United Conservative Party’s campaign promise to address labour shortages. The AICAB would be a one-time, $5,000 refundable tax credit intended to incentivize out-of-province job seekers to move to Alberta to work in the trades. “As world-class companies continue to choose to invest and expand in Alberta, the Alberta is Calling Skilled Trades Attraction Bonus will help to ensure we have the workforce necessary to meet their needs and continue our economic momentum,” said Alberta Jobs, Economy and Trade Minister Matt Jones. While the Alberta government was proud of the AICAB, NDP MLA Luanne Metz (Calgary-Varsity) said she was disappointed it was not including healthcare workers like the UCP promised during the campaign. “Alberta needs healthcare workers,” said Metz. “We were promised that they would be recruiting healthcare workers.” At the moment, Metz said Alberta is not competitive in wages or recruitment. This has led to healthcare workers moving to other provinces. The Alberta government introduced the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit in spring 2023, and it has attracted large investments in value-added agricultural manufacturing. It said the FSAA would expand the market by making it easier to apply and set up shop. “The food and agriculture processing industry is an important economic driver in our province,” said Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson. “Bill 10 would improve the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program and signal to investors that Alberta is a friendly, competitive place to do business and create new jobs in food and agriprocessing.”If passed, the FSAA would update the Alberta Film and Television Tax Credit. The Alberta government said having more large-scale productions locate to Alberta will create jobs and promote economic growth. Alberta’s population is growing faster than it has in decades. In response, it said the Land Titles Registration Levy will support the modernization of the Land Titles Office, making it more efficient and allowing new housing projects to start faster. To support people’s health, the FSAA would increase the tobacco tax rate to 30 cents per cigarette from 27.5 cents per cigarette and to 35 cents from 27.5 cents per gram of smokeless tobacco. This change would be part of Alberta’s tobacco and vaping reduction strategy to try to reduce the harms of smoking and second-hand smoke, particularly among youth.Jones followed up by saying if the AICAB is a success, the Alberta government would look at leveraging it to other areas experiencing labour shortages. “And certainly healthcare and childcare are two of the prime examples,” he said. “So we’re going to make sure we execute very well on this program and then see other areas.” At this time, he said it will focus on the trades. The Alberta government said on February 29 Budget 2024 is a responsible plan to address priorities it has, but it will increase spending by $5.2 billion — or a 2.7% increase — from Budget 2023.READ MORE: ALBERTA BUDGET 2024: Government plans to run a $367 million surplus with its $73.5 billion budgetAdditionally, it has predicted a $367 million surplus with its $73.5 billion budget, which is $2.1 billion lower than the third quarter forecast for 2023/2024. Budget 2023 cost $68.3 billion.“Alberta is growing,” said Horner.

UPDATED: Alberta government introduces bill to implement parts of Budget 2024

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