A

Assessment
Process of placing a dollar value on properties for taxation purposes. The value of the assessment determines the amount of taxes that will be charged to the owner of the property.

Assessment base
The total assessed value of all property within a municipality.

Assessment notice
Provides a forum for individuals or corporations to challenge their property or business assessments, except linear property.

Assessment roll
List of all assessable properties and their assessed values. The Municipal Government Act requires each municipality to produce an assessment roll each year. The roll must be completed by February 28 each year.

B

Business revitalization zone tax
Tax imposed on a designated business revitalization zone to fund improvements that will beautify and maintain the area.

C

Condition date
The date on which the condition of the
property is fixed for property assessment purposes. The condition date in Alberta is October 31 for Linear Property, and December 31 for all other property.

Cost approach
One of the approaches used to value property for assessment purposes. The cost approach is based on the theory that a person would pay no more for an object than it would cost to replace it. With regard to property, the assumption is that a purchaser would not pay any more to purchase a property than it would cost to buy the land and then rebuild the same buildings or improvements.

Court of Queens Bench
Hears appeals from decisions of assessment review boards.

D

Depreciation
A loss in value due to a cause.

E

Education requisition       
The amount of tax a municipality must collect for education purposes.

Education tax  
The amount each assessed person must
contribute towards a municipality’s overall provincial education requisition. It is included on each property owner’s tax bill.

Equalized assessment
Equalized assessment is an annual calculation that creates a common assessment base for distributing the provincial education property tax requisition among municipalities, the regional requisitions of some housing authorities, and may also be used to distribute provincial and federal grants among municipalities.

Exemption
A complete or partial elimination of assessment and/or property taxation.

I

Improvements
Buildings, or other structures, and attachments to land that are intended to remain attached (i.e. sidewalks, tunnels,
pavement, etc.).

Income approach
One of the approaches used to value property for assessment purposes. The income approach is based on the theory that income-producing properties are bought and sold based on their income-earning potential.

L

Linear property
Property that generally has distribution networks or other facilities, and may extend across municipal boundaries (for example, oil and gas wells, pipelines, and electric power systems).

Local improvement tax
A tax imposed on a specific region in a municipality that funds a service or improvement applied to a particular area only.

M

Market value
The price a property might reasonably be expected to sell for if sold by a willing seller to a willing buyer after appropriate time and exposure on an open market.

Market value based standard
Property assessment standard based on market value.

Mass appraisal
Process of valuing a group of properties as of a given date, using common data, mathematical models, and statistical tests. The use of mass appraisal allows assessors to accurately value a large number of properties in a short period of time.

Municipal Government Act
The legislation governing aspects of municipal government activities in Alberta, including assessment and municipal taxation powers.

P

Personal property
All moveable items of property not permanently attached to, or part of, the real estate. Examples include automobiles, furniture, jewellery, and works of art.

R

Real estate
The physical parcel of land and all improvements permanently attached.

Regulated property
Farmland, machinery and equipment, linear property, and railway property.

S

Sales comparison approach
One of the approaches used to value property for assessment purposes. This approach is based on the theory that the market value of a property is directly related to the prices of similar properties.

Supplementary assessment
Assessment of improvements that were constructed during a year and not captured on the annual assessment notice.

Supplementary taxation
Levying taxes based on supplementary assessments.