Recovery of Taxes Related to Land
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) recommend to the Government of Alberta to amend Section 412(1)(a) of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) to exclude “for more than one year” thereby enabling municipalities to initiate the tax recovery process one year after the date the tax is imposed rather than the two years that legislation now prescribes.
WHEREAS Part 10, Division 8 provides municipalities with the authority to collect tax arrears that relate to property taxes, local improvement taxes or special taxes as detailed under Section 382 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA);
WHEREAS Alberta Municipalities’ rely on property tax revenue to financially support the purposes of a municipality as defined in Part 1 Section 3 (a) (b) and (c) of the MGA;
WHEREAS there are municipalities that are experiencing property tax arrears; and
WHEREAS the length of time required to enforce the tax recovery provisions of Part 10, Division 8 place excessive strain on the cash flows of municipalities.
Municipal Affairs - November 2, 2012
This issue will be addressed as part of the MGA review.
AUMA considers this response.