By rdnewsNOW staff

Not gonna pay until they do

Former Alberta MLA goes on tax strike over unpaid oilpatch property levies

Jan 22, 2020 | 10:12 AM

A former member of the Alberta legislature says he won’t pay his provincial taxes until oilpatch players pay theirs.

David Swann, who once led the Alberta Liberals, says his tax strike is in response to news that rural municipalities in the province have been left with $173 million in unpaid property tax from energy companies.

RELATED: Rural municipalities claim they are owed millions in unpaid taxes

He’s encouraging other Albertans to withhold their taxes until the ‘patch ponies up.

“These companies are brazenly flouting provincial laws and cheating hardworking families who pay their taxes,” says Swann. “They have pocketed record profits, received a $4.7B tax cut, paid generous salaries to their executives, and now want Albertans to pick up their quarter trillion cleanup and tax bills.”

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“We all know the Alberta government’s first instinct is more oil patch subsidies and lower taxes. That failed strategy is unacceptable now,” adds Regan Boychuk with the Alberta Liabilities Disclosure Project (ALDP).

Energy industry spokesmen say companies have been hit hard by a long-term decline in resource prices.

They say their wells, pipelines and other facilities are overvalued for tax assessment and they want the province to give them a break.

Premier Jason Kenney has hinted that’s what’s coming.

(With file from The Canadian Press, media release)