ALBERTA ENERGY REBATE IGNORES SMALL BUSINESSES

The Alberta government cancelled the Fuel Tax Relief Program. Then it introduced a $100 Energy Rebate for households and chose to leave small businesses out completely.

The hits keep coming with lost fuel tax relief, no affordability rebate and rising taxes everywhere else!

Alberta’s Entrepreneurial Drought is Worsening!

Infographic showing fuel cost pressures on Alberta small businesses. 75% of small businesses say fuel is a major cost pressure, and 78%, nearly 8 in 10, have had to absorb rising fuel costs.

Households got relief.
Small businesses got higher costs and fewer supports.

Infographic showing the impact of excluding Alberta small businesses from the Energy Rebate and fuel tax relief programs. Key impacts highlighted include jobs being lost, operating costs increasing, and economic growth slowing.

ALBERTA SMALL BUSINESSES ARE RUNNING ON EMPTY!
THE GOVERNMENT MUST ACT NOW!

Dear Premier Smith and Minister Nixon,

CC: My Member of the Legislative Assembly,

My business lost fuel tax relief — and was left out of the Energy Rebate

Alberta’s small businesses are being left behind. The Alberta Energy Rebate supports households but excludes small businesses—while the Fuel Tax Relief Program many of us relied on has been eliminated.

We are facing a double hit: higher operating costs and fewer supports. With energy, fuel, insurance, and property taxes all remaining high, this is putting serious pressure my business that is already operating on thin margins.

Small businesses are critical to Alberta’s economy. When we’re excluded from affordability measures, it creates an uneven playing field, slows growth, and puts jobs at risk.

With stronger-than-expected revenues driven by high oil prices, Alberta has the capacity to act. It’s time to restore fairness and support those driving our economy.

I am calling on you to:

  • Take a more permanent approach to affordability by reducing the small business tax rate to 0% and increasing the threshold to $700,000
  • Extend the Alberta Energy Rebate to small businesses with a fair and meaningful amount of $250 per business
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The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 103,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings.