Municipalities will have the option of delaying six months of education property tax or a combination of education and municipal property taxes equivalent to the value of a six-month education portion deferral
The Government of Alberta has announced additional details of their plan to defer the payment of education property taxes on non-residential properties for six months (until October 1, 2020). Alberta Municipal Affairs has released guidelines on the deferral process, including its purpose and the recommended implementation process for municipalities.
In an effort to mitigate the administrative challenges municipalities will face in processing multiple tax payment deadlines due to the deferral, the program allows municipalities to choose between implementing a six-month deferral on the education portion of property taxes, or a combined deferral of both the education and municipal portion of property taxes that will result in an equivalent value to a six-month education tax-only deferral for property tax payers. Municipal Affairs has provided supplementary information on how the two options may be implemented:
RMA has emphasized to Municipal Affairs the significant cash flow issues that property tax deferrals and other impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are causing rural municipalities. RMA is working with Municipal Affairs to develop approaches to increase financial flexibility for municipalities. RMA expects information on this flexibility to be made available at some point in the next several weeks.
For enquiries, please contact:
Wyatt Skovron
Senior Policy Advisor
wyatt@RMAlberta.com
Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com