Calgary councillor calling for relief for property tax late payments
Posted Jul 28, 2020 7:58 am.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – One city councillor wants to give taxpayers a pandemic break.
Ward 5 Councillor George Chahal has proposed a notice of motion that would reduce or cancel high-interest late payments on property taxes for those struggling to meet economic deadlines.
“A combination of factors, including depressed oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, have put an extraordinary amount of financial pressure on many Calgarians,” said Chahal.
“The City has both the ability and responsibility to relieve some of this pressure by reducing or cancelling high-interest late payment penalties on property taxes. We must ensure that those who defer payments because of financial challenges aren’t unnecessarily burdened by these penalties.”
Today, I'm bringing forward a Notice of Motion, titled Financial Relief for Taxpayers, because high-interest late payment penalties imposed on property tax bills are not fair to Calgarians already facing financial challenges.#yyccc #yyc #abpoli pic.twitter.com/II45ZRiF3z
— George Chahal (@ChahalGeorge) July 27, 2020
The notice of motion also calls for city administration to push the provincial government to defer the city’s quarterly payments, the government’s portion of the municipal tax bill.
In May, the city extended the deadline to pay property taxes from June 30 to Sept. 30 without penalties.
Despite the call for tax relief, the City has been losing millions of dollars because of shrinking revenue and higher costs for some services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
