City considers tax cancellation policy

By Lethbridge Herald on June 27, 2025.

Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

The Governance Standing Policy Committee of Lethbridge city council on Thursday was asked to recommend to the full council that it adopt a property tax cancellation policy.

The SPC, consisting of councillors Belinda Crowson, Jeff Carlson, John  Middleton-Hope and Jenn Schmidt-Rempel voted unanimously to approve the recommendation.

A submission made by City property tax manager Kerry Boogaart stated that adoption of Policy CC-69 will enhance community welfare through a fair and transparent process and mitigates the risk of inconsistent decision making and legal challenges.

Maintaining the status quo could lead to perceived inequities, said the submission.

The policy establishes a framework as well as criteria for cancellation requests and refunds that are brought to council.

The proposed policy says council can undertake actions with or without conditions, including cancellation or reduction of tax arrears, cancellation or a refund of all or part of a tax, or a deferral of tax collection.

“City council has the discretion to take such actions when it considers it equitable to do so,” the policy states. “This policy aims to facilitate fair, consistent, and equitable outcomes while maintaining the overall  financial stability of the municipality.”

The policy notes that while all types of properties can be considered for municipal tax cancellation, only residential properties are eligible for such action under compassionate and humanitarian grounds.

Requisitions, however, can’t be cancelled and owners remain responsible for that part of a tax bill.

In instances where a building or improvements are destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, in the case of residential properties, or made unusable for business properties, only the assessed portion of building or improvement may be considered for cancellation, according to the policy. The land portion remains taxable for the whole year.

The policy adds that council decisions on cancellations are discretionary and final, with no right to appeal, and that requests must be supported by evidence and documentation. Prior to requests going to council, administration will review them and advise owners if requests will be recommended for approval.

Several factors would cause administration to not recommend approval of penalty reduction or cancellation, including claims people didn’t get a tax notice and late payment delivery due to such things  as a postal strike, lost/misplaced mail or lost/misplaced courier delivery, delays at the Alberta Land Titles office and payment process errors made by taxpayers, their representatives, delivery party or banks which result in a late payment.