August 26, 2025
RED FM News Desk
The City of Calgary has sent a $10-million invoice to the Alberta government, seeking reimbursement for the costs of collecting provincial property taxes.
Council approved the move in March, arguing the city should be compensated for administering taxes on behalf of the province. The bill has now been forwarded to Edmonton.
“A vast majority of people don’t know that about 37 per cent of the property taxes they pay actually go to the province,” Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Monday. “They get a single bill from the City of Calgary, but those dollars are then remitted to the province. There are other places that money could go; quite frankly, it could impact our budget decisions.”
Many homeowners admit they don’t pay attention to the breakdown. Calgary resident Karen Stauffer said when she received her tax notice in May, she simply looked at the total.
“I just look at the overall number and pay that overall number,” she said.
That lack of awareness has long frustrated council, and tensions grew this year after the provincial education property tax on residential properties rose by 15.6 per cent.
Premier Danielle Smith did not commit to covering the city’s costs but said she is open to a broader discussion. Speaking at an unrelated news conference, she floated the idea of centralizing tax collection.
“I’m quite happy to start that conversation if they feel the cost of tax collection has become too onerous,” Smith said.
Gondek, however, argued Calgary’s concerns extend beyond the cost of remittance, saying the city does not receive a fair share of the revenues collected.
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