Alberta budgeting method slammed by auditor general

Alberta's auditor general wants the government to scrap the way it reports how it spendstaxpayers money, saying it's too confusing.

For the last two years, the government has separated the annual budget into capital costs and operational spending. Money borrowed for infrastructure spending is no longer considered part of the operational deficit.

Government officials have defended the new budget method,saying taxpayers are interested to know thatday-to-day expenses are in line, but critics say thegovernment is merely trying tohide deficit spending.

Either way,MerwanSahersaysthe provincial budget has become overlycomplicated.

"In order to avoid people being confused and having to interpret and translate the (budget),I think the governmentshould consider ...presenting a generally accepted, accountingprinciples-based budget," he said.

Sahersaid the budgetused to be much easier to understand.

"All of that takes precious timethat, in my opinion, should be spent on people debating the contents of the budget," he said. "What is the fiscal plan? What is the surplus or deficit compared to previous years?"