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The Alberta government recently proposed giving Calgary and Edmonton more powers — changes that have been articulated in new, draft city charters for the two cities.

Here’s what taxpayers need to know about the proposed changes.

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First, the good news — the proposal doesn’t contain any major new taxes. Many observers thought the government might include new taxing powers for Alberta’s largest cities in charters — perhaps a new municipal sales tax, an amusement tax or a vehicle registration tax. Thankfully, there are no new major taxes in the cards … for now.

Over the past year and a half, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and Canadian Federation of Independent Business have been working together to campaign against new taxing powers for municipalities so we’re quite pleased to see a victory on this front.

While many politicians in Calgary and Edmonton claim their governments are hard up for cash and need new taxing powers, the fact is they’re not very effective with the funds they currently raise through taxation.