Canadian Governance Policy Trends: "Equalization” In The U.S. Context

Some of the people in favour of Alberta leaving Canada to become a U.S. state have suggested it would relieve Albertans from contributing their taxes to Canada’s equalization program. That program aims to ensure all provinces are able to deliver comparable levels of public service without imposing abnormally high taxes. As the highest-income province, Alberta receives no transfers.

While the U.S. has no equivalent of equalization, Washington does collect taxes and redistribute monies to states through numerous programs. Revenue redistribution is an essential part of any federal system and in the U.S., these transfers are the largest source of government income in some states.