Southern Alberta municipalities tired of playing the “bad guys” are calling on the Alberta government to start collecting its own education property tax — or at least start issuing bills on its own letterhead. Read More
’They’ve got far more transparent ways to collect tax, to raise taxes, and running it through municipal property taxes isn’t being transparent’
‘They’ve got far more transparent ways to collect tax, to raise taxes, and running it through municipal property taxes isn’t being transparent’
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Instead of playing the role of the “bad guys,” southern Alberta municipalities are calling on the Alberta government to start collecting the education property tax, which has gone up significantly, or at the very least start issuing bills on its own letterhead.
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In Okotoks, Mayor Tanya Thorn said the education tax, which municipalities collect on behalf of the province, is going up by roughly 23 per cent while the municipal budget is increasing by about 4.5 per cent. But she added the average residential taxpayer doesn’t understand that their tax bill is from two different levels of government.
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“It feels like the amount I’m paying the Town of Okotoks is going up an awful lot from last year,” she said.
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Thorn says she has no issues with the cost of education or the need for more schools, but believes the province should be collecting its own tax bill.
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She’s also calling for a “wholesome conversation” around how Alberta funds education.
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“I’m not sure that funding our education system on the value of the property you live in is where we should be in this day and age,” said Thorn.
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In Nanton, Mayor Jennifer Handley said property taxes in the southern Alberta town are increasing by 6.3 per cent this year, amounting to about $206 for the average household. The education tax accounts for 4.1 per cent of that increase, with the town raising taxes by 2.2 per cent.
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“We did our job. We cut to the bone. We deferred priorities,” said Handley in a recent social media post, adding the Town of Nanton respected that Alberta’s Consumer Price Index rose 2.4 per cent this year.
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But the education requisition rose by a “staggering” 21 per cent, adding $150 to Nanton homeowners’ property tax bills, said Handley.
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While the municipality appreciates that the Alberta government is building two new schools in Nanton, Handley said the increase isn’t about schools, as many other towns in the area have also seen similar spikes in the education tax.
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“And it’s not just us. Councils across Alberta are feeling the same frustration,” said Handley.
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Nanton’s council is calling on the province to start issuing property bills on its own letterhead, so that municipalities don’t have to “shoulder the blame for provincial decisions hidden within local tax notices.”
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Residents in rural municipalities also to feel effects of education tax increase
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Across the board, communities are experiencing double-digit increases in the education tax this year, said Vulcan County Reeve Jason Schneider.