- cross-posted to:
- canada@lemmy.ca
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This is the game plan.
Oil companies sell off assets all the time. Or they’ll split off poor performers to a failing company, who will then go bankrupt and leave all the unattended well-heads, and tax-payers to foot the bill.
It’s in plain sight. It’s encouraged by capatalism. It’s simply not going to stop under the current government, voted in by the people who work that land, and paid for by the people who live in the cities.
According to the Unpaid Oil and Gas Property Tax Survey conducted by the province in 2022, a cumulative $220 million in unpaid taxes has been reported by municipalities, with $130 million in tax arrears and the remaining $90 million in cancellations. About $76 million is owed by companies that are still operating, and that money is potentially recoverable, possibly through repayment agreements.
The Rural Municipalities of Alberta told CBC News there is now about $253 million in unpaid taxes reported provincewide.
As long as Hellberta continues to operate their O&G governance with a provincial open-wallet mandate, nothing will change.
This has been happening my entire life, and still nothing has been done to prevent it.
The closest is the orphan well fund, which is comically underfunded can’t do 10% of what is expected of it.
