This July, every Albertan should get a refund of provincial income taxes he or she paid in 2004.

Albertans paid $4.8 billion in provincial income tax in 2004.

But politicians now find themselves with $5.7 billion in extra revenues for the 2004-05 fiscal year.

During this current fiscal year which ends March 31, 2005, the Alberta government is receiving $28.6 billion in revenues, which is $5.7 billion more than expected. That $28.6 billion works out to about $9,000 in provincial taxes for every man, woman and child in the province. No government in Canada receives more revenues, per person, than Alberta's government.

About one third of this $9,000-per-person in provincial taxes goes to the government in the form of oil and gas royalties. It's a tax we don't feel directly in our pockets - unlike property tax and the health care premium tax, for example. But Alberta's oil and gas belong to Albertans, and so do the royalties when they are sold.

Why should politicians and bureaucrats have the right to spend 100% of this money Are their choices better than choices made by millions of Albertans when they decide how to spend, save and invest their own money If we, the people, own the resources - and we do - then why can't we, the people, benefit from these resources ourselves

Alberta is practically debt-free. Alberta's spending on government programs, per person, is already the highest in Canada. Politicians have already increased their spending of our money by 90% in the past eight years, while Alberta's population grew only 15% and inflation was 23%. But now, with billions and billions from oil and gas flowing into general revenues, should politicians increase their spending even more

It's time for Albertans to benefit directly from the oil and gas resources we own. With a projected surplus of $5.7 billion, why not refund Albertans the $4.8 billion we paid in provincial income tax in 2004 By the end of June 2005 the government's Annual Report will indicate how much money it collected from Albertans during the fiscal year ending in March of 2005. And by June of 2005, Albertans will have completed their 2004 income tax returns, and the government will know how much provincial income tax each Albertan paid in 2004. In July of 2005, the Alberta government should mail out provincial income tax refund cheques.

For some people it will be hundreds of dollars, for others it will be thousands. This isn't money which politicians and bureaucrats earned, but money first earned by Albertans. It's not a gift, but simply getting back what was yours to begin with. It's enjoying the freedom to use your own earnings to save for your children's education, take a vacation, give more money to worthwhile causes, pay off debt, or buy new furniture.

Those who want to see the $5.7 billion surplus spent by politicians should remember that no one spends someone else's money as wisely as he spends his own. With an extra $5.7 billion now in their hands, there is no excuse for politicians to keep the $4.8 billion they took from us last year through provincial income tax.