NISKU, ALBERTA, MARCH 24, 2025 – Last week, the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) released member data identifying that as of December 31, 2024, at least $253.9 million of municipal property taxes have gone unpaid by oil and gas companies. Despite government efforts to address the issue, the findings make it clear that these measures have fallen short, leaving rural municipalities to shoulder the growing financial burden.
To drive a collaborative approach to developing and implementing effective solutions to the unpaid tax issue, RMA called on Alberta Municipal Affairs and Alberta Energy and Minerals to commit to joining RMA in forming a working group to develop a Property Tax Accountability Strategy (PTAS). Last week, at RMA’s 2025 Spring Convention, RMA President Kara Westerlund and Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver announced that the Government of Alberta will partner with RMA to co-lead the initiative, with Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean also committing to participate.
“Unpaid oil and gas property taxes have persisted for years and have massive impacts on rural municipalities across Alberta. We’ve seen repeated well-intentioned government attempts be unsuccessful in finding solutions. As the problem is continuing to grow, we are at a point where sitting down at the same table and working with one another is the only way to come up with solutions that actually work to hold industry accountable for paying their property taxes.” – Kara Westerlund, President, Rural Municipalities of Alberta.
Because of the importance of the issue to rural municipalities and RMA’s familiarity with the drivers of non-payment and shortcomings of previous attempted solutions, RMA looks forward to working with the Government of Alberta as an equal partner in developing the PTAS working group process and leading participants from solution development to implementation and monitoring. Understanding the issues and possible solutions through a rural municipal lens is crucial, and RMA’s leading role in the PTAS will ensure this is the case.
“Solving big problems requires strong collaboration. The willingness of ministers McIver and Jean to work with RMA as a partner, rather than a stakeholder, to understand and solve unpaid property taxes from oil and gas companies is crucial to develop meaningful solutions to hold companies accountable”, RMA President Kara Westerlund stated.
The goal of the PTAS is to produce a joint report by the end of 2025 with actionable recommendations and strategies to recover unpaid taxes, prevent legislative and regulatory loopholes that allow non-payment, and restore a strong partnership between industry, rural municipalities, and government.
“We know unpaid taxes have huge impacts, and we also know that enhanced industry accountability is required. The Property Tax Accountability Strategy will build clear, actionable recommendations as to how to build this accountability into legislation, regulations, and policies,” Kara noted.
To view the original release, click here.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Shamelle Pless
General Manager, Marketing & Communications, RMA
780.886.2480
shamelle@rmalberta.com