Rocky Mountain House town council has passed a bylaw that reduces the property tax rate on affordable housing by 50 per cent.

In May 2024, Alberta’s provincial government amended the Municipal Government Act (MGA) to include a tax exemption for affordable housing, as defined by the Affordable Housing Act.

Under this change, municipalities have the authority to create their own bylaws, allowing them to set the tax rate anywhere between 0 and 100 per cent, explained Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Dean Krause.

Krause noted that Rocky has only a small number of properties that qualify under the new exemption.

As a result of the exemption, the 50 per cent rate will reduce property taxes by $15,590. However, town officials have stated, this will be factored into the 2025 tax calculations, so the approved residential property tax rate will remain unchanged from the 2025 budget.

Councillor Dave Auld expressed concerns about the optics of the change to the MGA, describing the financial impact as another instance of the provincial government downloading costs onto municipalities.

The new bylaw passed its third reading during the regular council meeting on Jan. 7, 2025.

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