More talk about privatization in BC, Alberta, and Ontario.
What really caught my eye was this paragraph:
"First, governments can keep the money they now generate from liquor sales even after privatization, despite what the critics falsely claim. A guaranteed revenue flow to government is not necessarily a virtue, but for those who worry about such things, governments can mark up beer, wine and spirits whether or not they own the stores. In Alberta, the government reaped $402-million from its liquor mark-up in the full year before privatization, and then dropped taxes but still took in $371-million in the first full year after privatization. This year, and despite four tax reductions in the 1990s, the Alberta government will take in $545-million."
See http://www.nationalpost.com/financialpo ... 449B294568
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Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Financial Post article on BC privatization
-
Uncle Bobby
- Posts: 383
- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2001 8:00 pm
- Location: East End Toronto
- Contact:
Matt,
A friend who was then a TV journalist at CBC Edmonton explained to me at the time that, when privatising licquor sales, Alberta sold off the retail end of the business, but retained the wholesale business. (We were in Calgary at the time of the discussion.)
In other words the old retail price on products became the new wholesale price. What that meant was that the private retailers simply marked up the old price in order to give themselves a margin.
Although this must be an over-simplication to some extent, the only advantage to Alberta consumers was that a private retailer could be slightly more flexible in terms of hours and promotions.
Presumably the BC government would have done much the same thing because licquor revenues represent such a large portion of overall provincial government revenues.
Another point this article fails to mention was that the selling of licquor retailing franchises was a hopelessly corrupt process with virtually all of the licenses going to people/corporations with Tory connections.
I work in the field of tax. I find the people at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to be, frankly, dogmatic, right-wing loons. The thing I find most upsetting is that their name piggy-backs on the credibility of the Canadian Tax Foundation, a professional organization of economists, lawyers and accountants (not exactly socialists) who study and publish authoritative papers on Canadian tax policy and law.
-Uncle Bobby
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Uncle Bobby on 2003-10-27 11:42 ]</font>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Uncle Bobby on 2003-10-28 10:38 ]</font>
A friend who was then a TV journalist at CBC Edmonton explained to me at the time that, when privatising licquor sales, Alberta sold off the retail end of the business, but retained the wholesale business. (We were in Calgary at the time of the discussion.)
In other words the old retail price on products became the new wholesale price. What that meant was that the private retailers simply marked up the old price in order to give themselves a margin.
Although this must be an over-simplication to some extent, the only advantage to Alberta consumers was that a private retailer could be slightly more flexible in terms of hours and promotions.
Presumably the BC government would have done much the same thing because licquor revenues represent such a large portion of overall provincial government revenues.
Another point this article fails to mention was that the selling of licquor retailing franchises was a hopelessly corrupt process with virtually all of the licenses going to people/corporations with Tory connections.
I work in the field of tax. I find the people at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to be, frankly, dogmatic, right-wing loons. The thing I find most upsetting is that their name piggy-backs on the credibility of the Canadian Tax Foundation, a professional organization of economists, lawyers and accountants (not exactly socialists) who study and publish authoritative papers on Canadian tax policy and law.
-Uncle Bobby
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Uncle Bobby on 2003-10-27 11:42 ]</font>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Uncle Bobby on 2003-10-28 10:38 ]</font>