Property Taxes and Your Nonprofit: An Important Update
Throughout the fall and winter of 2024, the Nonprofit Chamber participated in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs consultation on the Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation (COPTER), which provides Alberta municipalities with criteria and conditions to use for determining property tax exemption eligibility for Alberta nonprofit organizations.
Throughout the consultations, the Nonprofit Chamber emphasized consistency, fairness, and transparency in applying COPTER. The principles governing COPTER were established in 1997 and we urged a review of those principles to more accurately reflect the breadth and depth of the sector, while also increasing the ability for municipalities to achieve the policy intent of supporting nonprofits that contribute to public benefit.
Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation Review
You may have been following Calgary City Council's recent vote to approve property tax exemption for nonprofit affordable housing providers. At the Nonprofit Chamber, we have also been involved in a conversation about property taxes and nonprofits; we have been in consultation with the Province in their review of the policy governing property tax exemption for Alberta nonprofits, the Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation (COPTER). Read about that review and next steps for COPTER in the post.
Alberta Legislative Round Up: 13 Bills Passed by the New Government
The first sitting of the new government began on May 22 with a Speech from the Throne and just concluded on July 4 with 13 bills passed relating to 55 of the UCP platform commitments. The House will not sit again until October when a budget is expected to be tabled. To give nonprofits an easy reference to all the legislation, this blog post provides a brief summary of each bill.