Enmax, a utility owned by the City of Calgary, took the Alberta Government to court in 2014 to dispute the $375 million Enmax was assessed for in lieu of taxes over the 10 years prior. The Alberta Government insisted that money was returned to customers, but the utility claimed it was necessary to collect and keep it to even the playing field between corporations and municipally owned utilities.
The province stated that Enmax inflated the value of contracts or purchase arrangements it received over the last decade; and that they inflated interest rates charged to its own subsidiaries to reduce the amount of money required to pay in lieu of taxes. Read more here.
To follow up on this case, read the memorandum posted on April 26th, 2018 that states “the Alberta Court of Appeals quashed the Court of Queen’s Bench decision”.
“As we understand it, the Court of Queen’s Bench ruled in 2016 against the province and said that Enmax could claim the amounts they had originally, including the use of a 10 per cent interest rate,” commented Chris Vilcsak, President and CEO of Solution 105.
To further summarize the development on this on-going case, the province then asked the Alberta Court of Appeals if they would hear an appeal of the 2016 ruling. In April of this year the Court of Appeals ruled that they would hear the appeal saying the initial ruling in 2016 was in error.
“So, the issue is clearly not settled yet,” said Vilcsak. “It appears the only people who have won so far are the lawyers.”
Read the Court of Queen’s Bench decision here.