“Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” In April, that expression changes to “Everybody wants the benefits, but nobody wants to pay the taxes.”

As Calgarians are now showering with a three-minute egg timer due to water rationing, we can see the effect of political efforts to hold down taxes while costs rise and maintenance is ignored. Over the years, tax changes have been proposed to all levels of government, yet cities still must deal with only property taxes or provincial handouts, while the Alberta government continues to avoid a sales tax and lives and dies by the price of oil and $30 billion in royalties.

When the federal government lowered the GST from seven per cent to five per cent, many of us proposed that they only lower it to six, with that extra one per cent going to the cities or towns where consumers spent the money.

Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features.

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