News Releases

News Release - Manitoba

April 19, 2021

Province Introduces Legislation That Would Provide Education Property Tax Rebates to Manitobans

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Legislation Would Allow Nearly $250 Million in Rebate Cheques to Owners of Home, Farm and Commercial Property in Spring 2021: Fielding

The Manitoba government has introduced the education property tax reduction act, new legislation that would allow nearly $250 million in education property tax rebates to be provided to Manitoba property owners this spring, Finance Minister Scott Fielding announced today.

“Our government believes Manitobans need more tax relief sooner rather than later, and we are keeping our promise to begin phasing out the education property tax this year and completing our promised $2,020 Tax Rollback Guarantee one full year ahead of schedule,” said Fielding. “Budget 2021 will continue to protect Manitobans’ hard-earned incomes so they can support their loved ones and invest in their communities.”

As part of Budget 2021, Protecting Manitobans, Advancing Manitoba, rebate cheques would provide for $248 million in rebates of education property taxes and community revitalization levies to approximately 658,000 property owners in 2021. The average rebate to property owners would be about $1,140 per property over the next two years.

The province would provide a 50 per cent education property tax rebate directly to residential and farm property owners over the next two years (25 per cent this year and 25 per cent next year) and a 10 per cent rebate on other properties in 2021. The bill would also provide for corresponding reductions in various existing education property tax-related credits and rebates to ensure that all property owners are paying 25 per cent less on residential and farm properties, regardless of whether an owner qualifies for existing credits and rebates. 

In order to provide Manitobans with rebates as soon as possible this spring, the province has drafted a stand-alone bill that would entrench the 2021 rebates in legislation and establish an obligation on government to pay out the new school tax rebate to property owners. As the education property tax will be phased out over several years’ budgets and the rebate is not a one-time supplementary spending program, it requires legislation. The proposed bill would also provide authority to increase percentages by regulation in future years.

“Manitoba is currently the only province that uses locally determined municipal school property taxes to fund its education system. Modernizing our tax structure will put all Manitoba children on an equal footing regardless of where they live and transfer the responsibility of directly funding education away from property owners back to the province,” said Fielding, who noted the province will provide a $23-million offset grant to school divisions this year, equal to a two per cent property tax increase, as to not impact school tax revenue.

Fielding noted the bill would also make a change to the Residential Tenancies Act to freeze the rent increase guideline at zero per cent in 2022 and 2023 to allow residential rents to adjust to the reduction of the education property tax credit. Over the last 20 years, the annual average rent guideline increase has been 1.7 per cent. Landlords who apply for above-guideline rent increases will have to demonstrate their eligibility after taking into account the savings of the new school tax rebate.

Once the Manitoba legislative assembly passes the enabling legislation introduced today, rebates for the 2021 tax year will be issued to ratepayers in each municipality. Rebates over the next few years will lead to the eventual elimination and removal of both the Provincial Education Support Levy and the School Division Special Levy from annual property tax bills. 

For more information about the Education Property Tax Rebate, visit www.manitoba.ca/edupropertytax.

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