Alberta’s government and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta are joining forces to solve the problem of overdue oil and gas property taxes.
To support the recovery of unpaid oil and gas property taxes, Alberta’s government is establishing a working group with municipal partners. This working group will explore the issue in depth and investigate potential solutions to ensure municipalities are getting taxes they are due.
This working group aims to develop a new property tax accountability strategy that will result in recommendations and strategies to recover unpaid taxes. These recommendations and strategies may include closing loopholes and establishing stronger partnerships and communication between the energy industry, rural municipalities and government.
“Whether you like it or not, you have to pay your taxes. We’re committed to working with our municipal partners to ensure that bad actors in the oil and gas industry are held to account, and that municipalities are paid the property taxes they are due.”
“We are committed to working with municipalities and all of our partners to hold private companies accountable and ensure they pay the taxes they owe.”
Most oil and gas companies pay their taxes, with about $1.5 billion paid by energy companies in municipal taxes in 2023. However, some companies have not paid their taxes to municipalities, causing shortfalls in municipal revenues. This working group will work to resolve this issue.
“Rural municipalities continue to face the long-standing issue of unpaid oil and gas property taxes, putting immense strain on their financial sustainability. We are encouraged by the willingness of both Alberta Municipal Affairs and Alberta Energy and Minerals to collaborate with RMA to form the Property Tax Accountability Strategy working group. Together, we can create solutions that address this issue and restore a partnership between municipalities, government and industry.”
This working group is in addition to the development of a mature asset strategy to deal with the issues of the changing nature of the energy industry and to encourage more energy and economic development in the parts of Alberta that have mature oil and gas assets. As part of the development of the strategy, Alberta’s government has been engaging with partners including industry groups and rural municipalities. More information on the mature asset strategy engagement will be announced in the coming weeks.
Please see the original news release on the Government of Alberta website here.