Bill 91 — Fourth Session, 16Th Legislature, 20 Elizabeth Ii the Legislative Assembly Ctf ~Berur1T Bill 91 the Transmission and Railway Facilities Taxation Act (Legislature 16, Session 4)

L16 S4 4928

Alberta — Bills

1971 Bill 91 Fourth Session, 16th Legislature, 20 Elizabeth II THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ctF ~BErur1t BILL 91 The Transmission and Railway Facilities Taxation Act THE MINISTER OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS First Reading . . . . . . Second Reading ................... . Third Reading ........................... . Printed by L. S. Wall, Queen's Printer, Edmonton

BILL 91 1971 THE TRANSMISSION AND RAILWAY FACILITIES TAXATION ACT (Assented to ,1971) HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as follows: 1. In this Act, (a) "Board" means the Alberta Assessment Appeal Board appoi1nted pursl.,lI3Jllt to The Atstsessment Ap peal Board Act; (b) "Minister" means the Minister of Municipal Af fairs; (c) "municipality" means a city, town, new town, vil lage, summer village, municipal district, county, improvement district, special area or school district in a national park; (d) "pipe line" means (

i) any line of pipe including loops, by-passes, cleanouts, valves, fittings, rights of way or easements that form part of any system for the conveyance or transmission of gas, oil, coal, salt, brine, wood products or any combination, product or by-product thereof or for the con veyance or transmission of gas, oil, water, steam, air or any substance used in or inci dental to the production of a petroleum or saline product where such system is used (

A) as a flow line, test line, inje,ction line, secondary line, gathering line or main line to convey a substance from one loca tion which is not a single well to another location, or (

B) as a line to dispose of any waste material but does not include (ii) any line of pipe including loops, by-passes, cleanouts, valves, fittings, rights of way or easements that form part of any system for the conveyance or transmission of gas oil coal salt, brine, wood products or any co~bin~tion:

Expla natory Notes The purpose of this Act is ,to place certain types .of propeTtty .on a Provincial assessment and tax roll. These properties will include: (

a) horiz.ontal inter municipal pipe lines (

b) inter municip.al p.ower transmissi.on lines (

c) generCliting, ,tran1siorming, contr.ol ,and communications equipment (

d) railway right of way previously asses:sed under The Rail ways Assessment Act. The assessments will be eSitablished under Ministerial Reg ulations and subjeot to a uniform tax rate. The revenues will be placed in a trUSIt fund ,and distributed between the Province ,and the municipalities in accordance wiJth a formula to be prescribed by the ,Minister. I. Defini lions.

2 product or by-product thereof or fo~ the con veyance or transmission of gas, 011, water, steam, air or any substance used in or incid~n tal to the production of a petroleum or salIne product where such system is used (

A) as a flow line, test line, fuel line or in jection line to convey a substance to or from a single well, or (

B) as a distribution line from the line regula tor 'or plant regulator to the customer's premises for the distribution of gas, pro pane or other fuel, or (

c) as a part of a municipally owned and operated pipe line located outside the boun daries of the owner municipality, or (iii) the inlet valve or outlet valve or any machin ery, equipment or structures between such valves in any processing, refining, manufac turing, marketing, loading, pumping, treating, heating, separating, storing, metering or regulating facility, or (iv) drain lines or flare lines, or (

v) physical land or buildings; (e) "Provincial Assessor" means the Chief Provincial Assessor appointed under The Municipalities As sessment and Equalization Act; (f) "roadway" means the continuing strip of land own ed or occupied by a railway company as a right of way for its railway within Alberta but does not in clude the land that is outside the limits of the right of way and owned or occupied by the company for station grounds or extra right of way for sidings, spur tracks, wyes or other trackage; (g) "superstructure" (

i) includes grading, ballast, ties, rails, switches and other track appurtenances, bridges, tun nels, culverts, signals and grade crossing pro tective appl'i1ances, telephone and telegflaph lines, fencing on the right of way and station platforms, but (ii) ~oes not include railway stations, office build Ings, water tanks, coal docks, wells, pipe lines, pump houses and equipment warehouses dwellings, roundhouses, turntables, shops and tool houses and stock yards; (h) "works and transmission lines" means (

i) the machinery, equipment, structures, rights of way and easements constructed or acquired for and used in

(ii) (

A) the generation or creating of electrical energy, or (

B) the transformation of electrical energy from one form to another, or (

c) the control or operation of a part of a sys tem, or (

D) communication between one location and another, or (

E) the transmission of electricity between one location and another, but does not include the machinery, equipment, structures, rights of way and easements constructed or acquired for and used in (

A) the transmission of energy for the distrib ution of electricity from a line transfor mer to a customer's premises, or (

B) that part of a municipally owned and oper ated electric power system located outside the boundaries of the owner municipality, or (

c) the transmission of television by cable for commercial sale or resale to the public, or (iii) works or transmission line of a person or cor poration whose rates are not controlled or set by the Public Utilities Board, or (iv) physical land and buildings. 2.

(1) Pipe lines, or parts thereof, and works and trans mission lines, or parts thereof, and roadways and super structures, or parts thereof, shall be assessed in accordance with this Act.

(2) Nothing in this Act affects the power of a munici pality to assess and tax by way of local improvement for frontage assessment pipe lines, or part thereof, or works and transmission lines, or part thereof, or roadways and superstructures, or part thereof, situated in the municipality and subject to local improvement or frontage tax.

(3) That portion ofa municipally owned pipe line or works and transmission lines situated within and operated by that municipality, is exempt from assessment under this Act. 3

2. Liability to assessment. 3

3. The following property is exempt fron1 assessment under this Act: (

a) works and transmission lines and pipe lines used exclusively for farm services; (

b) canals, dams, dykes, weirs, breakwaters, ditches, basins, reservoirs, cribs and embankments; (

c) floodgates, drains, tunnels, bridges, culverts, head works, flumes, penstocks, aqueducts, devices and contrivances located at a dam and used in the operation of any such installations where the pur pose is exclusively for water conservation or flood control; (

d) all those portions of installations referred to in clause (

c) which are used in connection with water conservation or flood control except such portion thereof as are used for the generation or produc~ tion of electric power; (

e) land used for the construction, maintenance, oper ation or abandonment of the structures, devices and installations referred to in clauses (b), (

c) and (

d) where those structures, devices, or installations are situated thereon and used exclusively for water conservation, flood control or the generation or production of electric power; (

f) any land or improvement (

i) used exclusively for the treatment or disposal of waste materials for the purpose of controlling or abating pollution of water, soil or air, or (ii) used chiefly for the treatment or disposal of waste materials for the purpose of controlling or abating pollution of water, soil or air to the extent of its use for the control or abatement of such pollution, if the treatment or disposal facilities comply with the standards prescribed by or under any Act for the purpose of controlling water, soil or air pol lution; (

g) every right, title and interest of the Crown in any property whatsoever. 4.

(1) In each year the Provincial Assessor shall make or cause to be made on his behalf, an assessment of all pip~ lines, all works and transmission lines, and all roadways and superstructure that are assessable under this Act.

(2) Any assessment prepared under this Act for pur poses of taxation in the following year shall reflect the specifications and characteristics of the pipe lines works and transmission lines and roadways and superstructure 4

3. Exemption from assessment. .t. Provincial ASlsessor to have an annual assessment made. 4

as at the 31st day of October of the year in which the assess ment is made or should have been made. ( 3 ) The Provincial Assessor shall determine the assess ment in accordance with standards and methods prescribed by regulations under this Act.

(4) The assessment of generating, communications and substation equipment shall be at 50 per cent of the assessed value applicable to other kinds of property assessable under this Act.

(5) On or before the 15th day of December in the year in which an assessn1ent has been l11ade pursuant to subsection ( 1 ), the Provincial Assessor shall make a return to the Minister of property assessed under this Act. 5.

(1) The Minister, upon receipt of a return or returns from the Chief Provincial Assessor, shall cause an assess ment roll to be prepared setting forth (

a) a brief description of the pipe lines, works and transmission lines or roadways and superstructures liable to assessment under this Act, (

b) the name and post office address of the owner or operator of the pipe lines, works and transmission lines or roadways and superstructures, and (

c) the assessed value of pipe lines, works and trans mission lines and roadways and superstructures, as furnished to him by the Provincial Assessor.

(2) Where a pipe line is operated under a lease, agree n1ent or licence from or on behalf of the owners of the pipe line, it shall be assessed in the name of the operator as if he were the owner thereof. 6. Upon completion of the assessment roll, the Minister shall send or cause to be sent an assessment notice to each person liable to the payment of a tax with respect to prop erty assessed under this Act. 7.

(1) Where any property that should have been as sessed is not assessed, the Provincial Assessor, upon becom ing aware of such omissions, shall assess the property forthwith and shall include the assessment in a return to the Minister who shall cause the assessment to be placed on the assessment roll.

(2) The Provincial Assessor may at any time correct errors in any assessment under this Act and shall so advise the Minister who shall cause all necessary corrections to be made on the assessment roll. 5

5. Minis1er to ha'vean as,sessment roll prepared. 6. Assessment notices. 7. Correction of omissions and errors. 5

(1) A person who is the owner or operator of a pipe line, works and transmission lines or roadway or super structure that is or may be liable to assessment under this Act shall, on or before the 31st day of October in each year, transmit to the Provincial Assessor such information and in such manner as the Provincial Assessor may require for the purpose of making an assessment under this Act.

(2) The information submitted under subsection (1) shall reflect the specifications and characteristics of the pipe lines, works and transmission lines, or roadways and superstructure as at the 31st day of October of the year in which the assessment is made or should have been made.

(3) A person mentioned in subsection (1), who fails or refuses to furnish the information required or who know ingly make any false statement in r€spect thereof is guilty of an offence and liable on

summary conviction to a fine of not more than $200 and in default of payment to im prisonment for a term not exceeding three months. 9. A person referred to in

section 8, subsection (1) may, within 30 days after the date of mailing of the assessment notice by the Minister, appeal to the Board by serving upon or sending by registered mail to the Board and the Pro vincial Assessor, a notice thereof in writing in respect of (

a) an error or omission alleged in respect of the assess- ment of property, or (

b) an assessment alleged to be too high or too low, or (

c) any property in any way wrongly assessed, or (

d) the name of a person alleged to be wrongfully en tered upon or omitted from the assessment roll. 10. The Board in hearing appeals is governed by this Act and The Assessment Appeal Board Act. 11.

(1) Unless an appeal is taken therefrom within the time limited for the purpose, the assessment made by the Provincial Assessor shall be the value upon which the tax payable is determined.

(2) When an appeal is taken the assessment as confirm ed, varied, modified or altered by the Board shall be the amount upon which the tax imposed by the Minister is de termined. 12. As soon as the Board gives its decision upon an appeal the Minister shall cause the assessn1ent roll to be amended in accordance with such decision. 6

8. Information required for assessment. 9. Appeals. 10. Procedure on appeals. II. Basis of taxa:tion. 12. Assessment roll 1:0 be amended in accordance wLth the Board',s decision. 6

(1) The non-receipt of an assessment slip (

a) by the person to whom it is addressed, or (

b) by a person named on the assessment roll whose ad- dress is not known, or an error, omission or misdescription on an assessment slip does not invalidate the assessment or confer any right to exemption from taxation.

(2) Where an error, omission or misdescription on an assessment slip has influenced a person to whom the assess ment slip is directed to refrain from appealing against the assessment within the time allowed, that person is entitled to receive a corrected assessment slip and he may appeal to the Board against the assessment as shown on the corrected assessment slip within 30 days 'of the mailing of the correct ed assessment slip. 14.

The Provincial Assessor, or any person designated by him for the purpose, shall be permitted to inspect and examine 'any pipeJ!in€, works taJThd tr~nsmi:s,sion: line or roadway or superstructure at any time during the ordin ary operating hours of the pipe line or works and trans mission line or roadway or superstructure, and for that purpose has a right of access over the lands upon which any part of the pipe line or works and transmission line or road way or superstructure is situated. 15. Sections 43 to 61 of The Municipal Taxation Act do not apply with respect to (

a) an assessment of pipe lines, works and transmission lines or roadways and superstructures, or (

b) an entry made on the assessment roll pursuant to this Act, or to any matter arising therefrom. 16. The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall by Febru ary 15th in each year, or as soon thereafter as possible, estab lish a rate expressed in mills. not exeeeding 75 mills to be applied against assessments determined under this A~t. 17. The Minister each year shall cause to be collected a tax at the uniform rate on the dollar established under sec tion 16 levied upon the assessed value of all assessed prop erty shown on the assessment roll. 18. (~). A tax under

section 17 or

section 19, is payable to the MInIster not later than July 1st in the year in which the levy is made. 7

13. Validity of assessment is not affected by erroDs .or by non receip.t of assessment slip. 14. Inspection of property. 15. c.ertain sec,tions of the IMunicipal Ta~ation Act relating to Courts 'Of Revision and Appeal Boards do not apply. 16. ESltablishment 'Of provincial mill rate. 17. Provincial tax. 18. Time of payment of tax. 7

(2) Where a tax mentioned in subsection (1) is not paid on or before the date provided therein, there shall be im posed a penalty after July 1st at the rate of 10 per cent. 19. Notwithstanding

section 17 the Lieutenant Governor in Council may provide that a tax shall be levied on the gross revenue of any person or corporation liable to assessment under this Act in lieu of the taxation of all or any part of the property liable to assessment and in such case the Lieuten ant Governor in Council shall establish the rate of tax to be applied. 20. Any pipe line or any works and transmission line or any roadway or superstructure for which tax is payable under this Aet rshaUnot be a~sseslsable underr 'The Eledbrie Power and Pipe Line Assessment Act or The Municipal Taxation Act. 21.

Where any pipe line or any works and transmission line or roadway or superstructure, is assessable under this Act, no business assessment or business tax shall be levied against the owner or occupier of the premises on which the pipe line works and transmission line or roadway or super structure liable to assessment are situated, except with re spect to occupied office or warehouse premises. 22.

(1) The provisions of The Municipal Taxation Act as set forth in sections 91, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 110, 113, 115, 117, 118, 120, 123, 124, 131, 132, 134, 136, 137, 138, subsection (1), 139, 140, 141 and 143~ subsection (1) shall apply mutati,s mutandis to ,this Act.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1) every reference to a councilor to a municipal secretary shall be a reference to the Minister of Th1unicipal Affairs and the Deputy Min ister of Municipal Affairs respectively. 23.

(1) The Minister shall establish a trust fund for the deposit of revenues collected under this Act, and shall distribute the moneys so deposited to the Province and the lllunicipalities in accordance with the regulations.

(2) Regulations established pursuant to subsection (1) shall provide that 8 (

a) revenues collected for educational requirements shall be allocated for educational purposes only, (

b) the regulations governing the distribution of moneys shall ~e~?gnize that !he site municipality has a responsIbIlIty for provIding services to the property assessed, and

19. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may tax gross revenUE m lieu of property. 20. No double Itaxation. 21. Exemption fr,om business assessment. 22. Certain provisions of The Municipal Taxation Act to apply. 23. Tax revenues. to be shared between Province and municipal ities in accordance with the regulations. 8

(

c) the portion remaining for general allocation to all municipalities shall be made in accordance with the formula used for the distribution of grants under The Municipalities Assistance Act. 24.

(1) If any thing that is to be done within a number of days or at a time fixed by this Act, cannot be or is not so done, the Minister may by order from time to time ap point a further or other time for doing it, whether the time at or within which it ought to have been done, has or has not arrived or expired, as the case may be.

(2) A thing done at or within the time specified in the order is as valid as if it had been done at or within the time fixed by or under this Act. 25. A person who contravenes a provision of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on

summary conviction when no express penalty is elsewhere provided for in this Act, to a fine of not more than $100 and in default of payment thereof, to imprisonment for a term of not more than two months. 26. The Minister may make regulations: (

a) prescribing forms for use under this Act; (

b) prescribing standards and methods of assessment to be used in making assessments for taxation pur poses under this Act; (

c) governing matters relating to the administration of this Act; (

d) prescribing a formula for distributing revenues from taxes levied under this Act among the Prov ince and the municipalities; (

e) providing for any matter or thing deemed necessary or advisable to facilitate the carrying out of the provisions of the Act according to their true intent. 27. The Electric Power and Pipe Line Assessment Act is amended as to

section 2 by (a) 1eleting clause (

d) and by substituting the follow UI,g: (d) "pipe line" means (

i) any pipe in a well drilled or used for the purpose of (

A) obtaining oil, gas or any other min eral, or «)

24. Extension of time. 25. Offences and penalties. 26. Hegula1tions. 27. 'Consequential. 9

10 (

B) injecting gas, air, water or any other substance to an underground forma tion, or (

c) monitoring or observing the progress of depletion in an underground forma~ tion, or (

D) disposing of any waste material, (ii) any line of pipe including loops, by-passes, cleanouts, valves, fittings, rights of way or easements that form part of any system for the conveyance or transmission of gas, oil, coal, salt, brine, wood product or any combination, product or by-product there of or for the conveyance or transmission of gas, oil, water, steam, air or any sub stance used in or incidental to the pro duction of a petroleum or saline product where such system is used (

A) as a flow line, test line, fuel line or inj ection line to convey a substance to or from a single well, or (

B) as a distribution line from the line regulator or plant regulator to the customer's premises for distribution of gas, propane or other fuel, or (

c) as a part of a municipally owned and operated pipe line located outside the boundaries of the owner municipality but does not include (iii) any line of pipe including loops, by-passes, cleanouts, valves, fittngs, rights of way or easements that form part of any system for the conveyance or transmission of gas, oil, coal, salt, brine, wood product or any combination, product or by-product there of or for the conveyance or transmis sion of gas, oil, water, steam, air or any substance used in or incidental to the pro duction of a petroleum or saline product where such system is used as a flow line, test line, inj ection line, secondary line, gathering line or main line to convey a substance from one location which is not a single well to another location, or (iv) water source wells, or (

v) well head installations, or (vi) ~he inlet v~lve or outlet valve or any mach Inery, eqUIpment or structures between

such valves in any processing, refining, manufacturing, marketing, loading, pump ing, treating, heating, separating, storing, metering or regulating facility, or (vii) drain lines or flare lines, or (viii) physical land or buildings; (

b) deleting clause (

g) and substituting the following: (g) "works and transmission lines" means the machinery, equipment, structures, rights of way and easements constructed or acquired for and used in (

i) the transmission of energy for the distrib ution of electricity from a line transformer to a customer's premises, (ii) that part of a municipally owned and oper ated electric power system located outside the boundaries of the owner municipality, (iii) the transmission of television by cable for commercial sale or resale to the public but does not include (iv) physical land and buildings, (

v) the machinery, equipment, structures, rights of way and easements constructed or acquired for and used in (

A) the generation or creation of electrical energy, (

B) the transformation of electrical energy from one form to another, (

C) the control or operation of a part of a system, (

D) communication between one location and another, (

E) the transmission of electricity be tween one location and other, and (

F) works and transmission lines of a per son or corporation whose rates are not controlled or set by the Public Utilities Board. 28. (1). This Act, except sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 22 and 23, comes lnto force on the day upon which it is assented to.

(2) Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 22 and 23 come into force on January 1, 1972. 11

11 Title: 1971 (16th, 4th) Bill 91, The Transmission and Railway Facilities Taxation Act

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Bills
Citation	L16 S4 4928
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	L16 S4 4928
Language	en
Format	json
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	0f7b03e8a82fb289069a1dc83e0d528b006b55a6

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