Goodbye Alberta Advantage.



And with the end of the Alberta Advantage, say goodbye, too, to the possibility of an economic recovery anytime soon.



You might recall reports in early December showing that under our current provincial NDP government, Alberta had fallen from the 14th-best place on the planet in which to invest in oil and gas to 43rd.



Well here’s another similar blow.



When the NDP took power in May 2015, Alberta had the lowest top combined federal/provincial/sales tax rate of all 60 provinces and states in Canada and the U.S.



We were number 1 – lower than other low-tax jurisdictions such as Texas and Vermont. Now, under the Notley New Democrats, where are we?



In just a year and a half, Alberta's top personal income tax rate is now No. 46, according to an analysis done by the think tank the Fraser Institute.

"That means Alberta’s top rate is now in the highest third of North American jurisdictions. Comparing the marginal personal income tax rate at four different income levels reveals that Alberta no longer has a distinct tax advantage in any of those levels examined," the report states.



Our personal and corporate tax advantages, which once helped drive our nation’s roaring economy, have vanished entirely under the NDP. Where once Alberta had the best, most-attractive tax regime on the continent, it is now disappearing.



At a time of low oil prices, when investors and entrepreneurs are already cautious about putting money into the Alberta economy, the NDP have heaped so many new and increased taxes on Albertans that they will almost certainly prolong our economic pain for years to come.



Even if they somehow manage to get a pipeline or two built to one or the other of Canada’s coasts, few Albertans will see much of an improvement in their families’ prosperity. Any extra money they might make would just be snatched away by an NDP government that believes personal success is a crime against society and is sure government can spend money more sensibly and fairly than the people who earn it.



Take a look at the Notley government’s recent boasts that it has lowered the tax rate on small business from three per cent to two per cent to compensate for the carbon tax. While this statement is true, it is also dishonest. (Although I am not certain most NDP know enough about business or economics to understand their party’s own dishonesty.)



Small businesses are taxed twice – once when the business earns income and again when the owner takes money out of the company. While small businesses will now pay a rate of two per cent, the minute a small businessperson takes any money out of his or her enterprise, he or she will pay tax on that “draw” that has been raised by an amount similar to the amount the small business tax has been lowered.



It’s a sneaky way for the NDP to look as if they are cutting a tax when, in effect, they are not. The NDP aren’t going to be making any less money out of small businesses, they are just going to be squeezing it out of a different teat.



But I’m betting a good many New Democrat caucus members and even some cabinet ministers don’t understand that all their government has done is rob Peter to pay Paul.



The bait-and-switch game the NDP have played with small business taxes should also give all Albertans cause to doubt the government’s promises about the carbon tax rebates. The New Democrats insist these rebates will compensate most families for the carbon taxes they are paying, just as they insist their small business reduction is a real reduction, too.



The NDP seem to believe that if squeezing the golden goose can make it produce a few more eggs, then running it over with a truck will produce an unlimited supply.



lgunter@postmedia.com

(Editor's note: This column has been edited to reflect that the report looked at the top combined tax rate, and the top personal income tax rate.)