Contents

List of Figures and Tables

List of Selected Abbreviations

Foreword

Kevin Taft

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I No Sales Tax! Alberta’s Political and Fiscal Environment

1. Alberta Exceptionalism and Taxation as Affront

Robert L. Ascah

2. The Political Suicide Tax?

Graham Thomson

3. Alberta’s Fiscal Dilemma

Robert L. Ascah

4. The Revenue Push and Spending Pull: A Double-Edged Look at the Source of Alberta’s Fiscal Ills

Robert L. Ascah

Part II The Least Painful Solution: Why a Sales Tax Makes Sense

5. Alberta Sales Tax: An Inevitability and an Opportunity to Reset

Melville McMillan

6. The Volatility of Alberta’s Tax Bases: Implications for Tax Policy Choices

Ergete Ferede

7. Oil, Democracy, and Social Solidarity: The Case for an Alberta Sales Tax

Elizabeth Smythe

Part III Suggestions for the Future: How to Get a Sales Tax for Alberta

8. A Disciplined PST

Ian Glassford

9. Join the Sales Tax Parade! PST and the Road to Alberta’s Economic Recovery

Kenneth J. McKenzie

10. Moving to a Sustainable Fiscal Future: Addressing Alberta’s Legacies of Denial

Robert L. Ascah

Afterword

Trevor W. Harrison

List of Contributors