The Alberta government has agreed to join the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) in tackling the problem of overdue oil and gas property taxes.
In a news release, the government confirmed that Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver and Energy Minister Brian Jean will be involved in the collaboration.
The RMA’s seventh annual survey recently revealed that $253.9 million in municipal property taxes remain unpaid, $100 million of which is owed by companies that continue to operate in rural municipalities. The amount increased by $67.8 million last year alone.
The RMA has been seeking a collaborative effort to address the issue.
"We're cautiously optimistic and excited at the same time to see what will come from this process," said RMA president Kara Westerlund.
"We're hoping for a pretty short turnaround. We have a fall convention coming up in November, so we're hoping from the RMA side that we have some concrete and solid solutions so we can announce them to the municipalities then and be able to move forward."
She said it's important for discussions to involve representatives of the Alberta Energy Regulator, oil and gas industry leaders, partner associations, and municipalities deeply impacted by unpaid taxes.
Westerlund noted that she is the third RMA president to tackle the issue and that, in that time, Alberta has had three premiers and three or four energy ministers.
"It's time that we start addressing the gaps in legislation and the weaknesses within the regulations," she said.
The Alberta government says the working group aims to develop a new property tax accountability strategy that will result in recommendations to recover unpaid taxes. These may include closing loopholes and strengthening partnerships and communication between the energy industry, rural municipalities, and government.
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"Whether you like it or not, you have to pay your taxes," Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said in a news release. "We’re committed to working with our municipal partners to ensure bad actors in the oil and gas industry are held to account and that municipalities receive the property taxes they are owed."
Energy Minister Brian Jean echoed similar sentiments.
Most oil and gas companies pay their taxes and contribute about $1.5 billion to Alberta municipalities, the government said in the release. However, it also acknowledged that some companies have not, causing shortfalls in municipal revenues.