Canada's oil sands get a tax reprieve

The slump in crude prices has nixed Alberta's plans to raise royalties. The province retains its generous investment regime

After eight months of uncertainty in Canada’s oil sands, Alberta’s recently elected New Democratic Party (NDP) government shocked nearly everyone with its decision on a new royalty regime. The surprise conclusion: it will change nothing.  After campaigning last year on a promise to ensure that Albertans “get their fair share” of resource rents, most expected the left-leaning NDP to raise royalty rates. But the 29 January decision to leave the regime largely unchanged shows the government now believes Albertans are indeed getting their due from the oil patch, despite a C$6bn ($4.3bn) shortfall in the public accounts from low oil prices. Plunging oil prices made thoughts of clobbering producer