At a town hall in August of last year, CityNews reported that Smith accused the federal government of taking money through equalization and then using \u201cpolitical means to transfer it\u201d out of Alberta while spending it in \u201cplaces that vote liberal.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Would raising the education property taxes of Calgarians to pay for services provincewide be considered the same as moving money around to areas that vote more Conservative?<\/p>\n
Reality is, the Government of Alberta is using Calgary to subsidize education across the province. The Premier, when pressed about the extreme property tax increases, said: \u201cCalgary ratepayers are paying for Calgary students.\u201d She just forgot to mention that they\u2019re also paying for Edmonton students, Grande Prairie students, and even Medicine Hat students.<\/p>\n
Further, what the Premier\u2019s commentary excludes is that the education system is funded in a combination of income taxes, revenues, and property taxes across the province. Depending on the mix of revenue sources, paying for education can be fairly distributed across Alberta\u2019s wealth, or it can be disproportionately placed on the shoulders of Calgary families. <\/p>\n
Lately, Calgarians have been asked to pay a lot more, then a lot more again, to send Alberta\u2019s kids to school \u2013 all the while the province reduces its share<\/a> of the total costs of public education across Alberta. By raising the education property tax, the Government of Alberta gave itself a discount and shifted the costs to Calgary families.<\/p>\n Opening your wallet for Alberta\u2019s public education system<\/p>\n Education in Alberta is becoming an out-of-pocket cost. <\/p>\n The average Calgary household will pay an additional $340<\/a> a year to fund public education. Last year they were asked to pay an additional 218$ dollars a year. That same Calgary family now pays approximately $2,000 in property taxes to send Alberta\u2019s kids to school. Just two years ago, families paid about $1,400. I wonder what we\u2019ll have to pay next year to send our kids to school. All the while, the provincial share of education costs are shrinking.<\/p>\n Farkas may not have intended to highlight the province making education an out-of-pocket expense, but he picked a fight with implications much bigger than who should be blamed for rising property taxes.<\/p>\n Property taxes shouldn\u2019t be thought of like other taxes. Property taxes are known as a \u201cregressive\u201d tax. Income tax, on the other hand, is a \u201cprogressive\u201d tax. A progressive tax is a tax where the rich pay a bigger share of the taxes collected, while middle and low-income people pay proportionately less. Property tax works the opposite way. Low and middle-income people pay a higher proportion of their income to property taxes, while wealthier families pay a smaller portion. And unlike income taxes that come off your cheque before you get paid, property taxes are a bill you pay out-of-pocket.<\/p>\n Paying for education with property taxes makes it proportionately more expensive for low and middle-income families, while wealthier families get a tax break. <\/p>\n The province could raise income taxes or pay for education with energy revenues to create a fairer funding model and better share the cost of public education across all the streams of income the province has at its disposal. Instead, they made the political choice to place the burden of Alberta education on property taxes.<\/p>\n For comparison, Edmonton and Calgary households have roughly the same household income (Median before tax household income in Calgary is $100,000 and $96,000 in Edmonton), but Calgarian households will pay almost double<\/a> what Edmonton households do to send their kids to school.<\/p>\n Calgarians don\u2019t make double the money, we don\u2019t have double the population, our school system isn\u2019t twice as expensive. Housing, as a cost of living in Calgary, is much more expensive than in Edmonton. Yet, at the end of every year, Calgarians pay twice as much to send kids to school. That is not a fair deal for Calgary.<\/p>\n This year, the two school boards in Calgary will receive $2.24 billion in funding. Calgary taxpayers are now paying over 50 per cent of that through property taxes.<\/a> Three hours north in Edmonton, they will only shoulder 31 per cent percent of the cost of their public school system. <\/p>\n Calgary families will pay 19 per cent more than Edmonton families will to send their kids to school. All the while, the provincial government is reducing how much it pays for public education. That is true tax unfairness. Education in Alberta is becoming an out-of-pocket, pay-to-play system where the Government of Alberta is slowly shifting the costs from their budget to yours.<\/p>\n Farkas might not have known it, but he picked a fight much bigger than just property taxes \u2013 this is about the future of education, and more importantly, how much your family is going to have to pay for it.<\/p>\n Liked it? Take a second to support Courtney Walcott on Patreon!<\/p>\n
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