Alberta Municipalities Introduce “Please Pay Us” As Latest Revenue Tool
In a stunning act of fiscal gymnastics, nearly 600 oil and gas companies in Alberta have somehow managed to wrack up a jaw-dropping $254 million in unpaid property taxes, leaving rural municipalities scrambling to figure out who gets to foot the bill. This staggering figure, up from just $81 million in 2018, is quickly becoming the province’s most pressing debt drama.
Despite new policies designed to curb the behavior of struggling companies, it turns out that these oil giants are more skilled at avoiding taxes than drilling for oil. As unpaid leases and taxes continue to pile up, it’s becoming increasingly clear that local governments, often working with shoestring budgets, are now responsible for bailing out those very same companies that once promised prosperity.
It’s hard to say what’s more impressive: the companies’ ability to avoid paying their debts, or the government’s ability to pretend it doesn’t have a crisis on its hands.
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