PILT Act and Regulations
Background
Under section 125 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the Government of Canada is exempt from local taxation. However, since 1950, the federal government has shared in the cost of local government, where it owns real property, by making payments in lieu of property taxes. The payments were made under the provisions of the Municipal Grants Act, then the updated Municipal Grants Act, 1980 and most recently the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act, 2000.
The program has distributed billions of dollars to Canadian taxing authorities since it began almost 60 years ago. These federal payments are essential to the taxing authorities that receive them and they demonstrate the Government of Canada's commitment to local communities and to paying its fair share of local costs.
PILT Act
The Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act received Royal Assent on May 30, 2000 and came into force on December 2, 2000.
Regulations
As part of the modernization initiative for the PILT Program, amendments were proposed for the Regulations associated with the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act. These changes affected the former Municipal Grants Regulations, the Crown Corporation Grants Regulations and the Interim Payments and Recovery of Overpayments Regulations as well as Schedules I to III of the PILT Act. The new regulations were approved by the Governor in Council on November 7, 2001 and came into force on November 15, 2001. These regulations may be viewed at the following sites:
