Kenney to lower business tax rate to bring back the 'Alberta Advantage'

Kenney vows to bring back ‘Alberta Advantage’ The premier says tax cuts will bring back thousands of jobs to Alberta. CTV Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson reports.

Premier Jason Kenney has announced his government's new plan to create jobs in Alberta, and the message may sound familiar to long-term residents.

Kenney is vowing to renew what he calls the “Alberta advantage”, a phrase popularized by former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein during his first term as premier.

Kenney says his UCP government will be cutting the business tax rate from 12 per cent to 11 per cent as one of their first bills in the legislature next week. The decrease will take place on July 1. He also pledged to cut an additional one per cent every January for the next three years, bringing the corporate tax rate to eight per cent.

The premier made the announcement on Monday morning at Lafarge Canada in south Edmonton.

“After the job creation tax cut of bill number three is fully implemented, Alberta will have lower taxes on business investments than 44 of the 50 U.S. states,” Kenney said. “We will reverse the flow of investment from going south of the border to coming north of the border to Alberta”

Kenney says this plan has been made with help from economists, and promises it won't only benefit large businesses like Lafarge, but small and medium ones as well.

The premier believes these cuts will bring in 55,000 full time jobs to Alberta.

Kenney says this tax cut move will be the third bill on the floor when the legislature gets under way next week, the first two will be scrapping the carbon tax, and a red tape reduction bill.